Why does the renewable energy industry need to pay attention to education?

Energy democratization. That's my answer. Okay, so let me explain exactly what I mean by that.

Let's start with something we are all familiar with... the Internet. A dozen or so years ago business still operated the same way it basically has since the printing press was commercialized, through words written on paper or through word of mouth. I count television and radio as word of mouth. Then a couple of decades ago, an revolutionary idea (originally the ARPANET) was dreamed up by United States Air Force and put into action so that the military could access information and data from universities. They created a file-sharing network over telephone lines (remember those noisy modems?!). But there were issues with the original design of the system and ultimately the idea of information-sharing was gobbled up by universities, libraries and other institutions, and ultimately, industry and the consumer. Information-sharing became democratized... the transition gave the power of knowledge to the common man, woman and child.

This democratization foreshadowed behemoth changes in many industries. A couple of pretty obvious examples are the music industry, the news industry, the publishing industry, and of course, my favorite... education!

With the advent of charter schools and online schools, the consumer (i.e. parent and child team) had the power to choose, most for the first time ever. They no longer were limited to one school, one teacher, one classroom. As it stands today, not quite as monolithic as it was a handful of years ago, the American educational system is distressed because of this process of democratization.

If you've read Clayton Christensen's book "Disrupting Class, How Disruptive Innovation will Change How the World Learns", you know that the American public education system operates, in many ways, like a massive but surprisingly efficient corporation. The system was built to produce a workforce of educated young people who had enough basic knowledge and skills (the product) to hold decent jobs which would boost economic grow (you knew it would come down to money, didn’t you!?). You have to admit, creating the current educational system was a pretty amazing feat, considering what it took to create the hierarchy of leadership, develop curriculum and standards, properly prepare teachers and administrators, and provide quality assurance through testing and assessment of the product (the student). This system now delivers over 76 millions of “products” each year.

In the late 1800s, the bourgeoning public educational system met the changing needs of society. The system was amazingly successful for a very long time, able to adapt as needed to small changes, because the product didn't need to change much. Now, in the age of social media (often called the Attention Age, which piggy-backs off of the Information Age), the product must to be modified to meet the quickly changing needs of today's society, to redefine teaching styles based upon new information about student learning styles, to engage students in "inquiry-based" learning, and to help students understand and navigate the immense knowledge systems available to them (i.e. the internet). We now have legislation in states across the union requiring online curriculum be taken by students. It's one sign of the changing times. Many more will follow.

So I can guess that by now you see where I'm heading with the first two words of my post... energy democratization. Today, big corporations still "own" the energy industry in America (and around the world unless you live in Iceland... my land of heritage, thank you very much). A change of power is imminent because energy democratization is beginning. The big idea here is that renewables, like solar and wind power are resources that can't be owned by a corporation. They are free resources... free to anyone who has the capital to put solar panels on their rooftops or a wind turbine in their back yard. The resource itself is not dominated by a few select corporations. No one can come along and say "We own the solar radiation in your region because we have the only harvesting equipment, we're going to limit how much we let you use, regulate it through our beaurocracy, and then sell it back to you at a price we invent."

But don't expect big energy to give up without a fight. Energy companies make a LOT of money and they will hold on for dear life and fight every obstacle to their continuance… it’s a human condition that accounts for us being here today, after all! A renewable energy economy means they won't have ownership of a resource, and that means their profits will fall. That’s a painful process for a corporation, just as it is for a person. But, just as changes are happening to the education systems as a result of online education, social media, and gaming, disruptive innovations in energy technology will slowly usurp the current powers that be in the energy industry.  

As for 21^st century learners, whether or not quantum dot semiconductors, superconducting tape, or superior neutron-absorbing nuclear materials are the next big breakthrough doesn't really matter to them…  what will matter very soon is that young people understand that they will have a vital role in a new energy system not only as a consumer, but maybe as a researcher, engineer, builder, or politician. What matters is that they will have choices because the energy system they know today won't exist in thirty years...  and that will be the result of energy democratization.