Higher education’s role in tackling energy crisis

Many of us will remember 2022 as a year that brought the reality of climate change closer to home. The impacts were hard to ignore: catastrophic heat waves followed by flooding in Pakistan, drought and disappearing rivers across Europe and major flooding throughout the United States were just a few of the disasters that marked a year of extremes.

This year I’m struck yet again by the urgency of the situation and the critical role institutions of higher education play in combating climate change while addressing the need for energy transition.

Some progress has been made — notably the Inflation Reduction Act’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The road to net zero is bumpy and not well-defined, but what we do to limit harmful emissions and remove carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from our atmosphere is the best way we can reduce global warming.

As a geoscientist who studies global environmental change and as an educator, I have the privilege of working with students who are inheriting the massive challenge of implementing sustainable solutions to get us to net zero in just a few decades. At our college, researchers and students alike work to find better climate solutions and energy answers,

How do we support this transition? To start, last spring my Penn State colleagues and I hosted a roundtable on energy and climate with experts from large energy and utility companies as well as leaders from government agencies and nonprofits. The group discussed how the U.S. could develop an energy system with zero net greenhouse gases by 2050.

There is not an on-off switch for how we transition energy. Instead a broad array of technologies, including some legacy technologies and fuels such as natural gas, were discussed. Fossil fuels will likely remain a critical source of energy for the near future, and carbon capture and storage at a massive scale will be necessary to meet emissions reductions targets.

Renewable energy sources, especially wind and solar power, coupled with electrification will increasingly support our energy needs, but issues of critical minerals supply, energy storage and expanded distribution related infrastructure needs will limit the rate of electrification. Expanded electricity generation from nuclear energy could help. But we are likely approaching a tipping point and must act quickly to transition the nation’s energy systems while maintaining reliability.

Colleges and universities must arm today’s students with the skills that will help them perform in the current dynamics of the nation that still depends on fossil fuels but teach them in an agile way that enables these fundamental skills to transfer to new technologies.

For example, petroleum engineering majors can work to develop leak-resistant carbon and hydrogen storage reservoirs and expand the exploitation of geothermal energy. Mining engineering students can learn sustainable approaches to developing a circular economy of critical minerals that support renewable energy. Embracing a mix of research and technologies, old and new, is the powerful combination needed to move us forward.

Providing students with the knowledge that will not only increase their marketability upon graduation but provide the skills required for careers will simultaneously help the world transition to a more sustainable energy landscape.

But efforts must go beyond education. Campuses too, can reflect a more sustainable existence. At Penn State, we are proud of our programs and partnerships toward that goal. One-quarter of our university’s power over the next 25 years will be provided by Pennsylvania’s largest solar farm, helping us to reduce greenhouse gases and regenerate farmland. The university has reduced campus greenhouse gas emissions by 42% since 2005.

Higher education also can be seen as a space to cultivate knowledge and connection to solve these problems, as we did during our roundtable discussion.

We have an enormous responsibility to develop the leaders who will shape our future. The energy transition is ongoing and complex. Let us remember our mission to prepare students to face both the reality of today and the possibility of tomorrow. Our planet depends upon it.