Hot Topic: Sustainable Energy

"Our product is very much in demand, even if the public is requiring it to be more efficient and more green."

Filled up your car lately? Paid that jet-fuel surcharge? Worried about home heating bills? Ouch, ouch, ouch.

Whether it's oil or coal or even nuclear, the demand for power and energy is soaring, just as the industry's infrastructure is aging and supplies are tightening. Individuals, service-sector businesses and industry - all over the world - just can't get enough.

Is this a problem or an opportunity? For our profiled expert this month, Wanda Reder, it's both. Reder, vice-president of S&C Electric Co.'s Power Systems Services division and president of the IEEE Power & Energy Society, says sustainable energy is the answer. And IEEE members, she says, are front-and-center in efforts to develop such alternative-energy sources.

To help IEEE navigate this wave of the future, Reder recently led a successful drive to modernize the name of the former Power Engineering Society to the Power & Energy Society (PES). "The challenges we face are very complex, requiring multiple disciplines", she says. "The new name better positions us to work with all professionals whose knowledge and experience are needed for industry problem-solving."

IEEE Engaging the World recently sat down with Reder to discuss sustainable energy and IEEE's role in bringing expertise to a solution for the problem:

IEEE: The new name, IEEE Power & Energy Society, better reflects the cross-disciplinary world we live in, correct?

Reder: Yes. With more than 22,000 members, PES represents a diverse range of interests within the industry, including generation, transmission, distribution and utilization. We have a strong presence throughout the world, with more than 180 active chapters. But while PES is strong, there is little doubt that our industry is at a critical point, facing numerous challenges, like an increasing world population, demands for higher living standards, and a pressing need to reduce pollution.

Furthermore, we must avert global warming and most likely change the energy mix away from fossil fuels with expanded development of sustainable energies such as wind, solar, biomass, geothermal, nuclear and energy from the oceans.

IEEE:It's about more than the technology, it's about the people behind the technology?

Reder: To address these challenges, we will need to incorporate numerous new technologies - and the people who know them inside and out. These likely involve energy efficiency, plug-in hybrids, renewables, smart grids with distributed generation, clean coal technologies, storage techniques and the ability to capture carbon.

There is no silver bullet. We need all of these technologies, all of these people, all of their knowledge, and more. Clearly the industry's needs are changing, and PES has to change right along with them. The energy aspect of the name change appeals to the societal interests of potential members, allowing us to respond to an increasing need for power and energy professionals.

IEEE: Power and energy, they're not so straight-forward anymore, are they?

Reder: It’s an interesting confluence of events that’s brought us to this point. Due to increasing demand and aging infrastructure, we again are facing the need for large capital investments in generation and transmission. Unlike in the past, though, things are very different. You can’t just build a classic coal plant anymore and expect not to be criticized for it. This expansion needs to be done while incorporating renewable generation, adopting new computing and communications technologies, rewarding energy-efficient behaviors and addressing climate-change concerns. Furthermore, our expectations of electric reliability are rising, and carbon-policy changes will undoubtedly impact how we supply, deliver and use energy.

IEEE: Economics are at play as well?

Reder: Aren’t they always? Strong global demand for scarce materials and resources is increasing costs around the world. The moral of the story is that our product is very much in demand, even if the public is requiring it to be more efficient and more green.

IEEE: What can the PES do?

Reder: Our mission going forward will continue to be the same – to be the leading provider of scientific and engineering information on electric power and energy for the betterment of society, and the preferred professional development source for our members – even while our profession faces an environment of rapid and often breathtaking change. We will continue to maintain our core values and strengths. We need to accommodate the emerging technologies and it is more easily done within the Society under the banner of our new name and revised constitution.

IEEE: Where is the need for sustainable energy most critical?

Reder: While demand for energy in general is growing here in the U.S., it is nothing like the rate of growth in China, for example. Global industrialization means that there is no geographic area in the world immune to the energy challenge and the consequences of our actions.

IEEE: Does the industry have the talent base to handle such seismic industry change?

Reder: It’s true, we are facing extreme retirement attrition in the coming years. A recent survey forecasts that 46 percent of the power engineering jobs in the U.S. could be vacated by 2012. And power engineering programs are being weakened as a result of minimal hiring of new faculty to replace retiring faculty in the last decade.

Meanwhile, we’re seeing similar problems globally; British university and college admission data show that only 213 students were accepted into electrical engineering courses in the U.K. in the year 2001. It’s simple math; with larger numbers of electrical engineers moving on, the impact of this workforce deficiency is going to be felt for years.

Still, what a time to be an engineer in the power and energy field! There’s tremendous demand for professionals with skill, creativity and a knack for innovation to address these broad-reaching challenges. In fact, for PES, workforce adequacy is a strategic initiative. We are bringing college and university talent together with potential employers in a systematic way now. And there are more such initiatives to come.

IEEE: Any last comments, Wanda?

Reder: Yes, I encourage folks to browse the PES Web site and the IEEE Web site to stay abreast of the solutions being forged around the world in sustainable energy.