Our energy industry is in transition. The molecules and electrons that make up the fuel mix that powers the world; Novel power generation sources coupled with increasing efficiency and enhanced environmental technologies on older generation sources; Evolving transmission and distribution networks; New and more discerning end users, and changing end uses— all are driving change in how we source, value, use and perceive energy. This Energy in Transition course is intended to give you a comprehensive overview of energy in transition, improve energy literacy, and enable you and your organization to think more critically about the future and what it could mean for us as industry professionals and as consumers.

First we look at which molecules and electrons are likely to make up the future of energy, and how certain technologies are developing to enable that switch, as well as the economics and ethics around different choices we are facing. Next is generation, considering different sources of power and several of the factors that influence the choice between generation sources. We then flow into transmission and distribution, considering a few ways that the energy grid could change and evolve to accommodate increasing demand, different generation sources, and different end use cases. Finally we consider what the energy future looks like from the point of view of end use. Going beyond increasing efficiency of old technology, we will see a transformational shift in how power is used, which drives new synergies and opportunities in our energy garden.

Finally, we switch gears from the technical energy future to think about the people who will plant the energy garden, and how we nurture those people and mindsets to enable change, closing out the course with a highly tactical chapter on implementing change, including tools to identify, manage and lead change.

This course is intended to stretch, provoke, and inspire you to consider how you shape the energy garden of the future. Even as this is released, new technologies will be rapidly developing – this is a moment in time to get us thinking about the “next” and to inspire some digging of our own into the current interrelated state of energy development.