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Due to a number of major factors, including the state of the economy, the climate crises and the general higher visibility of environmental issues, renewable energy has become a significant and high profile subject. Now, more than at any time in history, there is a growing awareness of our impact on the planet and consequently a growing movement toward environmental responsibility through the use of renewable energy.

The fundamental shift toward using renewable energy is not just motivated by those who are environmentally conscious and who want to do their part to stabilize the climate. Renewable energy is also attractive to the countless people out there who are interested in saving money on heating and cooling bills by using alternative energy sources. Regardless of the motivation, the result is the same; unprecedented numbers of average people are looking into all types of renewable energy in order to save money on household energy bills. Many have numerous questions about renewable energy. Here are some renewable energy FAQs:

What is renewable energy?
Renewable energy is generally defined as energy that is unlimited in quantity and which renews or regenerates itself without any input from humans.

What are the different types of renewable energy?

Solar power: one of the most popular and reliable forms of renewable energy available, today, solar power is collected by solar panels that have numerous solar cells that store the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity, just like a traditional battery. Solar panels are usually installed on the roofs of structures and are linked together and then tied into the house’s electrical wiring system. Many people find that having a solar power system saves them dramatic amounts of money in heating and cooling bills and some people are even able to disconnect entirely from the electric company and live off the grid on solar power.

Wind power: wind power comes from wind generators that capture the kinetic energy from the wind and translate it into electricity. This is essentially accomplished with propellers mounted on towers. As the wind turns the propellers, electricity is generated. Many electrical cooperatives have built large farms of massive wind generators, but a scaled down version is available for residential use.

Hydrogen furnace: while somewhat different and much more complex than solar or wind power, hydrogen furnaces are just beginning to become proven and reliable technology to create unlimited sources of energy. Essentially, the hydrogen furnace produces energy from waste material by separating the hydrogen molecules. Hydrogen furnaces have posed massive engineering problems for years, but recently there have been breakthroughs that have allowed this technology to become viable.

Can one save money by using renewable energy?
If done correctly, one could save thousands of dollars per year in electricity costs by using renewable energy technology such as solar or wind power. In many places, solar panels can provide the majority if not all of the electricity necessary to power a household every month. The cost of installing a renewable energy system is often recaptured in savings in the first year.

While the financial crisis may have sidelined renewable energy as a viable choice for the average homeowner or small business owner, the same forces that created this downturn may setup a perfect storm for renewables to come surging back and bring employment opportunities with them.

A lack of available financing, restricted household budgets, and plunging business profits put a damper on the change to renewable energy since this recession began in late 2007. Once oil and natural gas came crashing down from their summer 2008 highs, renewables such as solar and micro-wind have suffered from a poor dollar cost comparison with brown energy.
Despite a clear public desire to switch off carbon-based energy, many found renewables difficult to justify in terms of a personal utility choice. System sales stalled and a question mark hung over the industry’s future. Analyst recommendations for solar and wind companies followed their stock prices: down. And many who had seen a future career move into renewables found themselves dealing instead with the realities of a severe economic downturn. While the desire for renewables continued, the means of fulfilling it was weakened.

Today a confluence of factors may be shifting once again in favor of renewables, bringing back a surge of new system sales, investment and importantly, employment. The price of brown energy is cycling up again with crude oil back to $50/barrel, home heating oil at $2/gal and natural gas seems to have formed a bottom at $4/MBtu’s. On the investment front, significant commentary by economists and stock analysts about the lack of investment in new oil and gas production capacity is pointing at supply shortages on the 5 years horizon. In the near term, China’s internal stimulus packages are widely recognized to be effective in restoring economic growth at the same time that the American economy is seeing glimmers of positive news. Blocks and blocks of foreclosed, abandoned and scavenger-gutted housing stock in cities across America present a chance for restoring them with renewable energy technologies. And perhaps most telling, the new administration has made renewable energy a centerpiece of its agenda and declared it off limits in budget negotiations with congress. This welcome stabilizing of the recession points to increased energy consumption as the world economy re-inflates, with increased prices and employment following on its heels.

So how to ride this new wave of opportunities in renewable energy? The same as you ride any wave: with a surfboard and some skill, remembering to add in a touch of bravery.  In the case of changing careers into renewable energy, the “surfboard” is basic knowledge about the science and technology of solar, wind and geothermal, how such systems work, the skills used in assessing a residential or commercial site, the financing and  ROI calculations, and system design and installation details. This set of knowledge and skills is the foundation for understanding and working with renewable energy.  Complementing this knowledge,  an understanding of the industry and how it is structured and the wider trends at work in and on it enables one to make informed choices.  Rather than riding the same wave as everyone else, a broader education brings a broader view and the ability to plan well for the future. As with any career move – one made by choice or by having the choice forced upon us – a touch of bravery overcomes the inertia that so often prevents us taking the first step.

To get the career equivalent of the surfboard, seek out education and training options that will get renewable energy knowledge and skills in your hands sooner rather than later. However, try not to set yourself up to be overwhelmed with the transition by planning multiple classes spread out to give yourself time to absorb and use what you learn. The brown energy infrastructure has taken 150 years to be build up: it won’t change overnight and most people alive today have never dealt with “energy” beyond the electrical outlet in the wall. An increasing number of community colleges, solar and wind equipment manufacturers and training companies are offering classes and workshops in renewable energy. Ranging from hands on training geared for technicians to install solar panels and erect wind turbines to courses in renewable energy sales and marketing, these classes will add renewable energy knowledge and skill to your resume and extend it beyond your previous career. 

With a new, upward trend in energy costs and strong motivation to re-tool America’s buildings off brown energy, $15 billion per year promised by the new administration and signs of economic stability on the horizon, now is the time to pursue the many training providers across the country for knowledge and skills in renewable energy.
Few other recessions in the post World War II era have been as severe as this one. Nor have they had such a perfect storm of conditions built-in to bring about an explosion of new economic growth to end them. Catch the wave. The time to train for the coming change from the brown energy of the past to the renewable energy of a recovered economy is now.