Clean/sustainable energy is vitally important to the welfare of our society. Pollution, global warming, and a myriad of other health issues are on the rise because of pollution from energy that is not clean, and our current methods of producing energy are thus not sustainable. However, this issue is a wicked problem because it involves so many different sectors of business, government, and society, and has impacts that reach far beyond simply electricity. Lack of sustainable and clean energy contributes to pollution that negatively impacts society. However, switching over to clean energy poses political issues and questions of how to encourage behavioral changes. Additionally, “clean” energy technologies such as electric cars often simply shift the burden of pollution from the city, where the car is being driven, to the area where the electricity is being produced. Thus, even clean energy solutions need further work. 

Lack of clean energy often affects poorer communities more than it affects richer communities, making it an issue of social equity. First, electric plants producing pollution are often in less wealthy areas, exposing them to more pollution. Second, inefficient use of energy can pose an unnecessary financial burden to families and businesses without extra resources. Finally, new, clean and sustainable technology often has costs attached to either transition to, or maintain, that are unaffordable for many. 

 As a city planner with a specialization in transportation, clean energy will impact me as technology and modes of transportation change to reduce pollution. If I do not end up working in the transportation planning field, it is likely that any form of a career in city planning will cross my path with the issue of clean energy. 

My component of the project focuses on sustainable energy by examining companies at both ends of the spectrum – two small startups and Georgia Power, one of the largest energy providers in the United States. The two startups, RedWave Energy and NETenergy both seek to boost sustainability and clean energy by addressing waste currently taking place in the energy industry. They have both created new technologies that harness waste (RedWave, heat from manufacturing processes; NETenergy, on-peak air conditioning). Both companies hope to widely disperse their technologies and thereby impact the energy industry. Georgia Power, meanwhile, is a large energy company that is seeking new ways to diversify its energy profile in response to a changing social conscience and company demands for clean energy.