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Bob Redlinger graduated from ASIJ in 1981 and has worked in sustainable energy his entire career. He started in environmental engineering but found he preferred economics and policy work related to energy and the environment. He has worked for the UN and in project development, and is now Director of Renewable Energy at Chevron Energy Solutions. The biggest challenges are the difficulty of profitability in sustainable energy and changing practices at a large oil company. He believes renewable energy will see tremendous growth in the next 10-20 years as issues like energy security, prices and climate change drive changes to the energy system.
Bob Redlinger graduated from ASIJ in 1981 and has worked in sustainable energy his entire career. He started in environmental engineering but found he preferred economics and policy work related to energy and the environment. He has worked for the UN and in project development, and is now Director of Renewable Energy at Chevron Energy Solutions. The biggest challenges are the difficulty of profitability in sustainable energy and changing practices at a large oil company. He believes renewable energy will see tremendous growth in the next 10-20 years as issues like energy security, prices and climate change drive changes to the energy system.
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Bob Redlinger graduated from ASIJ in 1981 and has worked in sustainable energy his entire career. He started in environmental engineering but found he preferred economics and policy work related to energy and the environment. He has worked for the UN and in project development, and is now Director of Renewable Energy at Chevron Energy Solutions. The biggest challenges are the difficulty of profitability in sustainable energy and changing practices at a large oil company. He believes renewable energy will see tremendous growth in the next 10-20 years as issues like energy security, prices and climate change drive changes to the energy system.
Авторское право:
Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Доступные форматы
Скачайте в формате PDF, TXT или читайте онлайн в Scribd
I ’m Bob Redlinger. I was born in Tokyo environment ever since I was a kid, and it always bothered me How has the field changed since you began working? Bob Redlinger ’81 shares and spent my entire school years at to see people wasting resources. The environmental aspects of When I first started working, it was very hard to find any jobs ASIJ, graduating in 1981. I attended energy were always of particular interest to me. When I first went at all relating to the environment, especially ones that paid a his work on sustainable college in the San Francisco Bay Area and to college, I had two primary academic interests: the environment, decent wage. These days it seems like every job out there has have lived in San Francisco ever since, and psychology. My first quarter in college, I took an introductory some kind of “green” angle to it. So I think there has been energy except for a three year period when I environmental science class, which I absolutely loved, and an a remarkable shift in societal attitudes. But translating that lived in Copenhagen, Denmark. My wife introductory psychology class, which was poorly taught, and I into actually changing people’s behavior is a slow and painful Michelle and I have two kids: Maya (10), slept through every single lecture. So that was kind of a decisive process. I fear what might happen to people’s attitudes, in the and Emil (6). I’m currently employed as fork in the road, and I’ve been doing the environment thing ever US at least, if gasoline becomes cheap and plentiful again as it Director of Renewable and Distributed since. And I married a psychologist instead. was only a few years ago. Energy at Chevron Energy Solutions in San Francisco. I lead Chevron’s business What is the biggest challenge for you in working in this Can you mention any teachers or courses at ASIJ that that develops and constructs large utility- area? influenced you? scale solar energy and wind energy Looking at the industry as a whole, it’s a lot like the early days In 8th grade science with Mr. Frens, which was during one of projects. Chevron Energy Solutions is of the internet right now, where it’s easy to raise money and the oil shocks of the ‘70s, we did a unit on energy that made the “green” division of Chevron, and easy to find jobs, but it’s very difficult to actually make money a lasting impression on me. I also really loved Mr. Taylor’s our entire business is focused on energy as a business. It’s very competitive and has a real “wild west” psychology class during my senior year, and hence my interest efficiency, renewable energy and clean feel to it, and many companies will have a hard time surviving in psychology when I went to college. I should mention Mr. small-scale power. until things become profitable. Combined with a completely Boyd’s futuristic literature and ethics classes as well, just dysfunctional energy policy environment in Washington, DC, because I liked them so much, whether or not they affected How did you get started in this you’ve got a pretty tough business climate despite all the my career choices (plus he sold me my first guitar, which I still business? enthusiasm by policymakers and the general public alike. have and play). I’ve spent my entire career in the energy The other big challenge for me is in trying to create a and environment space. I started out renewable energy business within a very large oil company. What inspires you? working as an environmental engineer, Chevron is a good company that’s interested in doing the right I think I’m primarily inspired by everyday acts of simple designing treatment systems and thing as a corporate citizen. But it’s also an extremely large and kindness, the kind of stuff that’s not newsworthy but makes processes for water, wastewater, and risk-averse organization that has a hard time devoting attention life just a little bit better. But I’ve also always had a soft spot hazardous waste. I didn’t enjoy that at and resources to anything other than oil and gas. So in many for iconoclasts and misfits who shake up people’s thinking and all, so I then became an economist and ways, selling my ideas internally within the corporation is much challenge conventional orthodoxies. I suppose that kind of worked in energy economics and policy harder than selling them externally. It’s that proverbial case of explains my continuing battle to drag Big Oil into the renewable consulting for several years, both in the trying to change the course of a supertanker. energy age and change the world’s energy landscape. States and internationally. I then moved to Denmark and worked on energy Where do you see this business/area heading in the next 5 – How green are you at home? and environmental policy in developing 10 years? Fairly green. I cut my electricity bill by well over 50% by countries for the UN Environment Renewable energy has seen many false dawns in the past, so making things energy efficient. And my wife and I share one Program. I loved that life, but I couldn’t those who’ve been doing this for a while are always on the small car, which I rarely drive since I take public transit to work. accomplish anything; and the futility of lookout for the next bust. But the boom really feels different I do have a ’69 Honda motorcycle that belches a lot of fumes, that effort convinced me to focus on this time around and feels like renewable energy is finally here so that’s my one environmental sin, but it’s a classic and I don’t building real projects that I could see and to stay. I think the combination of problems relating to energy ride it much. I’m also pretty into cycling, so I ride my bike a fair feel. So I moved back to San Francisco security, high energy prices, Middle East wars, and climate bit. We tend to buy organic food when we can, but we’re not and got into clean power project change are finally getting people to realize that something has dogmatic about it. We also recycle and compost, but that’s all development, which I’ve been doing for to change in the way we produce and use energy. So I believe easy in San Francisco because the programs for them are well the past nine years. there will be phenomenal growth in wind and solar energy over set up and convenient. the coming years. Change in the energy industry is always slow What influenced you to choose this because the sums of money involved are so immense, but I One piece of advice for current students: field? think the energy system in the next 10 to 20 years will start to Listen to lots of old Led Zeppelin and Neil Young, and practice I’ve been keenly interested in the look quite different from today. those Jimmy Page guitar licks.
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