Decarbonization of Electricity Sources Requires Mobilization of University Resources

Kay Kohl, UCEA Executive Director and CEO
UCEA InFocus, July 2008 (PDF)

Earlier this month, former Vice President Al Gore called on the country to produce all electricity from “carbon free sources” by 2018. His proposal seems to have left even some environmentalists staggering. Still, by connecting the current pain at the pump with climate change just months prior to the 2008 U.S. election, Gore did the country a huge favor. He intentionally enlarged the political space in which political candidates now will need to debate the issue this year and wherein Senator Obama or Senator McCain can address the issue as President in 2009.

EPA Report

Coincidentally, also this month, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a report warning that climate change will pose “substantial” threats to human health in the coming decades. Despite the EPA’s warnings, the White House declined to promote regulation of greenhouse gas emissions.

Decarbonizing the country’s electricity sources will require the mobilization of all segments of the economy. Universities will be relied upon to conduct the research that will enable the nation to realize the promise of wind power and solar power. Then, too, if the country aims to produce 100 percent of its electricity from renewable energy within 10 years, higher education institutions will need to prepare people for a host of new jobs. It is easy to imagine that a changing energy economy and an expanding commitment to environmental protection will create many attractive professional opportunities in the public and private sectors.

Incentives for Investing in Renewables

With the price of oil now roughly $135 per barrel—or twice the price of just one year ago—the incentives for investing in development of affordable renewables have changed markedly. Forward-thinking continuing educators should take note. For new jobs in the electric power industry, construction, environmental engineering, management, public health, and government regulatory agencies, to name a few, appear on the horizon. Most will require new education and training.

National Electric Grid

Embracing Gore’s proposal could hasten development of a Unified National Electric Grid. Basically what the U.S. has now is prone to defects and power outages that cost American businesses over $120 billion a year. There’s no escaping the fact that the National Electric Grid is in dire straits and needs to be upgraded. The Grid is vital to national security and American commerce. Gore’s proposal could be a strategy not only for jump-starting a transition to reliance on renewables, but also for giving the United States a 21st century Electric Grid.

The most important problems that the country confronts—changing energy economics, war in the Middle East, and climate change—are interwined, as Gore observed. Solving these problems will require a life style change. For many people, it may also mean pursuit of university continuing education in order to qualify for new jobs in the public and private sectors that are bound to emerge when renewable energy sources dominate and CO2 gas emission are regulated.

Kay Kohl