Ranked #1 in the World
Covered parking spaces come with something extra at the North American headquarters of British Telecommunications in sunny Southern California. Solar panels mounted on parking lot shade structures deliver enough renewable energy to power more than 150 average-sized California homes for one year. That translates to about 15 percent of British Telecommunications’ electricity requirements at the site. Carrie Norton, a 2003 Thunderbird graduate, spearheaded the project as a senior manager at Suntech Energy Solutions.
She says the project shows what people can accomplish when they put their minds together and work toward sustainable energy solutions.
Unfortunately, Norton says, many companies in the United States resist this type of innovation because they lack proper economic incentives. She says these companies continue burning large amounts of fossil fuels because they see the transition to renewable energy as too hard or too expensive.
“We’ve been a laggard instead of a leader,” she says. “The Europeans have put us to shame in making this transition.”
Norton says big breakthroughs in renewable energy technology are still a “decade out” because companies went so long without investing in research and development. “For a good chunk of the 20th century,” she says, “people were in denial.”
But Norton is “cautiously optimistic” that America has turned a corner. Some of this optimism comes from the election of U.S. President Barack Obama.
“Building a new green economy is a high priority of his,” Norton says. “He understands the need to create economic incentives and spread awareness about the environment.”
Gregory Lukens, a 1990 Thunderbird graduate, offers a European perspective on the issue. Lukens is a founding partner of OpciónDos Energía Natural, a solar energy company in Madrid.
He says economic incentives in Europe motivate many companies to seek renewable energy solutions. But the first priority of these companies is often financial return rather than environmental protection.
“Here in Europe, solar investment is ROI driven,” he says. “In the United States I sense that many investments are based on one’s will to be green.”
Regardless of the motives for change, Lukens says government, nonprofit and private sectors must work together quickly to address the world’s energy problems.
Petroleum, natural gas and coal pack a powerful punch in a small, convenient and affordable package. But Lukens says humanity will burn through its endowment of these irreplaceable energy sources in about 200 years
“Collectively we are moving slowly and in an uncoordinated fashion toward the new energy future,” he says.
To reach this future, he says humankind must diversify its energy sources and learn to consume less.
“The changes needed must be massive and will take courageous leadership at a variety of levels,” Lukens says. “The choices will not be easy.”
Debarshi Das, a 2008 Thunderbird graduate, will make his contribution in wind power.
“I wanted to work in renewable energy,” he says. “And wind energy is the most cost competitive with traditional fossil fuels.”
Das says he jumped at the chance in 2008 to join Clipper Windpower in Carpinteria, Calif., near Santa Barbara. The company creates wind energy technology, manufactures turbines and develops projects in Europe and the Americas.
As manager of commercial transactions, Das supports the sales staff in closing orders by providing financial analysis and other business expertise.
Already, wind generates more than 1 percent of the world’s electricity. But energy experts project that figure to explode in the next few years as oil prices fluctuate and pressure mounts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Increased reliance on wind makes sense to Das, who was born in Canada and grew up in the United States.
“I strongly believe that less developed countries and emerging markets have a great opportunity to leapfrog other nations that depend on fossil fuels by moving toward renewable energy sources,” he says.
Das says countries such as the United States stuck in the “fossil fuel trap” will have to work hard to wean themselves from their oil dependence. But progress is being made.
“We’re on the right path,” he says. “The more we can harness free energy, the better off the planet will be.”
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