It was a clear day, at least by relative standards. There’s always the “perma-haze” that stubbornly blankets the city and it’s a sharp contrast from the blue sky hill country of Austin, Texas where I studied Economics, but that day was an especially clear one. I was taking advantage of the cool short autumn in Nanjing, China and was journaling under a willow tree near Nine Dragon Lake. I had only been in China for four months of a two year stint and felt an overwhelming compelling to want to do something. I’m an economics major and understand the scale and importance of the energy sector. I’m also an outdoor enthusiast and understand the need to preserve and protect our environment. It was that day where I distinclty remember deciding that I wanted to pursue a career in renewable energy. But where to start? Later that day I returned to my apartment, downloaded the renewableenergyaccess podcast, and began researching the industry.

For the past two years I have lived in China studying the language and culture. This experience has opened my eyes to many things. I have witnessed the staggering need for new energy sources as well as the effects of fossil fuels on air quality and pollution. I’ve had the opportunity to visit the 3 Gorges Dam, the largest hydro electric dam on earth set to crank out 19 GW of electricity once fully operational. I’ve seen hill tribe villagers in Thailand watching satellite television powered by small 120 w solar panels that the government has provided in order to bring power to the remote tribes in the north. I’ve toured solar cell manufacturing facilities in Nanjing and watched the staggering growth of the urban cities. China plans to add 400 new cities over the next 20 years!