\ncompetitiveness is so important, sparked by the rapid entry of China
\nand other nations. My colleagues and I recently contributed to the
\ndiscussion with “Rising Tigers, Sleeping Giant<\/a>,”
\na large report providing the first comprehensive analysis of
\ncompetitive positions among the U.S. and key Asian challengers. In
\norder to compete, we found, “U.S. energy policy must include large,
\ndirect, and coordinated investments in clean-technology R&D,
\nmanufacturing, deployment, and infrastructure.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But even if the United States adopts a real industrial policy for <\/p>\n A competitive energy workforce requires <\/p>\n Unfortunately, the majority of our colleges and universities lack <\/p>\n Meanwhile, other countries are producing a substantially larger <\/p>\n The energy workforce deficit and STEM education gap will <\/p>\n Recognizing these trends, several experts have called for federal <\/p>\n The proposal, called RE-ENERGYSE<\/a> (Regaining our Energy Science and Engineering Edge), is part of the <\/p>\n RE-ENERGYSE is an important step toward creating a competitive U.S. <\/p>\n The global clean-energy race represents one of the greatest <\/p>\n Originally published by Clean Edge<\/a><\/p>\n Related Links:<\/strong><\/p>\n Kerry vs. Bingaman on the Senate’s approach to energy<\/a><\/p>\n Forests and agriculture essential to success of climate legislation<\/a><\/p>\n Brian Baird: ‘This is not government mind control’<\/a><\/p>\n
\nclean energy, there is little evidence that our workforce is skilled
\nenough to compete. Unfortunately, according to the Department of Energy<\/a>,
\n“The U.S. ranks behind other major nations in making the transitions
\nrequired to educate students for emerging energy trades, research
\nefforts and other professions to support the future energy technology
\nmix.”<\/p>\n
\nmuch more than technicians and building retrofitters. Scientists,
\nengineers, high-tech entrepreneurs, and advanced manufacturers will
\nplay a critical role, just as they have in strategic sectors like
\ninfotech, aerospace, and biotech. The federal government has started to
\naddress the need for green technician and efficiency retrofit training,
\nsuch as with the Green Jobs Act, but it has not implemented an
\neducation strategy to keep the U.S. at the leading edge of energy
\nscience, technology, and entrepreneurship.<\/p>\n
\ndegree programs focused on energy, and the U.S. power engineering
\neducation system is on the decline. Over the next five years, 45
\npercent of electric utility engineers will be eligible for retirement,
\nalong with 40 percent of key power engineering faculty at U.S.
\nuniversities, according to a report by IEEE<\/a>.
\n“Engineering workforce shortages are already occurring,” the report
\nconcludes. “We need more electrical engineers to solve industry
\nchallenges, and to build the 21st century electric power grid … Meeting
\nthese needs requires long-term investment now.”<\/p>\n
\nportion of scientists, engineers, and researchers that will benefit
\ntheir cleantech industries. Science and engineering make up only about
\none-third of U.S. bachelor’s degrees, compared to 63 percent in Japan,
\n53 percent in China, and 51 percent in Singapore, and the number of
\nChinese researchers is now on par with the United States (though some
\nhave pointed out<\/a> that the quality of these graduates and researchers is not always comparable). “Over time,” stated a recent report by the National Science Board<\/a>,
\n“the United States has fallen from one of the top countries in terms of
\nits ratio of natural science and engineering degrees to the college-age
\npopulation to near the bottom of the 23 countries for which data are
\navailable.”<\/p>\n
\nsubstantially limit the nation’s ability to lead the cleantech
\nindustry and accelerate clean energy development. As Nobel Laureate Paul Krugman put it<\/a>,
\n“If you had to explain America’s economic success with one word, that
\nword would be ‘education.’” In order to succeed in the cleantech
\nindustry, the U.S. must develop an energy education strategy to develop
\ntens of thousands of advanced energy scientists, engineers, and
\nentrepreneurs, as well as technicians.<\/p>\n
\nprograms to develop our advanced energy workforce. In April 2009,
\nPresident Obama took up these recommendations by announcing the first
\nnationwide initiative to inspire and train young Americans “to tackle
\nthe single most important challenge of their generation—the need to
\ndevelop cheap, abundant, clean energy, and accelerate the transition to
\na low-carbon economy.”<\/p>\n
\nadministration’s 2011 budget request, which will be considered by
\nCongress in the months ahead. With oversight from the Department of
\nEnergy and National Science Foundation, it would educate thousands of
\nclean-energy scientists and engineers, beginning with $74 million for
\nenergy-related programs at universities, community and technical
\ncolleges and K-12 schools, with the largest component focusing on
\nhigher education.<\/p>\n
\nclean-energy workforce—that is why thousands of students and dozens
\nof professional associations want it to succeed<\/a>,
\nand that is why Congress should fund it at the full budget request.
\nBeyond RE-ENERGYSE, the federal government should work to expand these
\nprograms into a clean-energy education strategy on par with the National Defense Education Act<\/a> of 1958, which helped reposition the U.S. in the space race and achieve revolutions in information technology.<\/p>\n
\nchallenges for American leadership in a generation, and now is a
\ncritical moment. If we do not immediately implement a national strategy
\nfor energy leadership—including smart investments to educate the
\nenergy generation—we will miss a historic economic opportunity.
\nAmerican students are willing to rise to this national challenge, and
\nwe need the support of our government to succeed.<\/p>\n