Pursuing an Energy Engineering Major?
In comparison to fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas, which pollute the air, emit carbon dioxide, and create global warming issues, renewable energy is clean energy.
Renewable energy is energy that is naturally replenished on a human timescale. This includes sources like sunlight, wind, rain, tides, waves, water, the heat of the earth, and plant materials. Renewable energy sources include:
- Solar energy
- Wind energy
- Hydro energy
- Tidal energy
- Geothermal energy
- Biomass energy
In order to combat the global warming issue, 197 countries have signed The Paris Climate Agreement, whose goal is to hold global temperature rise to “below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels” and cut net greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050.
Why 2 degrees Celsius though? According to scientists, a temperature rising above 1.5 degrees will lead to more natural disasters such as heatwaves, extreme rainstorms, water shortages, drought, greater economic losses, lower crop yields, higher sea levels, and destruction of coral reefs. A temperature rising above 2 degrees will lead to more irreversible damages and natural catastrophes. For example, according to a report by McKinsey, by 2030, the number of lost working hours in India due to heatwaves will cause somewhere between 2.5 and 4.5 percent of GDP to be lost annually.
Replacing fossil fuel energy with renewable energy to achieve net-zero carbon emissions must happen. Scientists have had technology breakthroughs in recent years, which resulted in costs for solar energy dropping by 90%. Wind energy and other renewable energies have also been dropping in cost in recent years.
However, since most renewable energy sources are highly dependent on climate-related factors such as sunlight, wind speed, and water availability, we must find a way to store energy so when sunlight is not available or when there is no wind, we still have access to electricity. Electricity itself cannot be stored on any scale, but it can be converted to other forms of energy which can be stored and later reconverted to electricity on demand. Storage systems for electricity include battery, flywheel, compressed air, and pumped hydro storage. Today, energy storage still faces challenges and requires innovation and breakthroughs in capacity, lifespan, lower cost, and higher security.
High schoolers who are interested in renewable energy and sustainable development can apply for an engineering major which will provide excellent preparation for careers in industry, government, and research, and for study in graduate school.