What a Decision for Achieving 100% Renewable Energy Might Look Like

An earlier article in this series – Asking the Right Questions to Swiftly Achieve 100% Renewable Energy –showed what four right questions might look like for swiftly achieving 100% renewable energy.

The preceding article in this series – What Achieving 100% Renewable Energy Might Look Like – showed that the second of those right questions – “What might a decision for achieving 100% renewable energy look like?” — might be re-stated as:

“What might a decision for adopting a renewable energy option look like?”

*  *  *  *

A decision for adopting a renewable energy option might look like an active decision to adopt a renewable energy option, as distinguished from a passive decision to use an energy service provided by the renewable energy option – as shown in Figure 1:

An active decision to adopt a renewable energy option might be thought of as a decision made by a group of decision-making people (active decision-makers) to adopt a renewable energy option that provides an energy service to energy service users (passive decision-makers).

Active decision-makers might be distinguished from passive decision-makers, as shown in Figure 2:

Hawaii Story:  In Hawaii, people at the electric utility who are responsible for planning and procurement of renewable energy options by the utility might be thought of as active decision-makers because they determine what renewable energy options are adopted to provide electric power service used by the utility’s customers.

The utility’s customers might be thought of as passive decision-makers because they make passive decisions to use electric power provided by the options adopted by the utility’s active decision-makers.

When planning & procurement people at the utility make an active decision to adopt a renewable energy option (say, a multi-megawatt PV generation and energy storage facility), their active decision to adopt that option determines what renewable electric power service is made available to the utility’s customers.  The utility’s customers make passive decisions to use that renewable electric power service by simply flipping a switch to turn on the lights or a PC.

Why Might It Be Helpful for Reversing Global Warming to Distinguish Active Decisions from Passive Decisions?

Distinguishing active decisions from passive decisions might be helpful for reversing global warming because one active decision to adopt a renewable energy option might yield millions of passive decisions to use the energy service provided by that renewable energy option. Millions of passive decisions to use that energy service might look like millions of decisions to avoid pouring greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

If reversing global warming looks like:

• billions of people
• swiftly making energy decisions and swiftly acting on those decisions
• to adopt renewable energy options that avoid pouring greenhouse gases into the atmosphere

then one active decision by one group of decision-making people — that yields millions of passive decisions to avoid pouring greenhouse gases into the atmosphere – can be a model for thousands of active decisions by thousands of decision-making groups of people throughout the whole of human society that yield billions of passive decisions by billions of people to avoid pouring greenhouse gases into the atmosphere …

… and billions of people making billions of energy decisions every day to avoid pouring greenhouse gases into the atmosphere might look like reversing global warming.

*  *  *  *

An active decision to adopt a renewable energy option might look like one of two kinds of decisions – an active decision made by a group of decision-making people who adopt a renewable energy option (primary decision-makers), or an active decision made by a group of decision-making people who approve adoption of the renewable energy option (secondary decision-makers) – as shown in Figure 3:

Decision-makers at a utility, private enterprise or government agency who make an active decision to adopt a renewable energy option and who are responsible for benefits delivered by the option to energy service users, might be called primary decision-makers.

Once primary decision-makers make an active decision to adopt a renewable energy option, the adoption of that option often may depend on further active decisions made by groups of decision-making people at governmental bodies who have authority to approve or disapprove the primary decision-makers’ adoption of that option.

Decision-makers at governmental bodies who make such further active decisions might be called secondary decision-makers because primary decision-makers’ active decisions to adopt renewable energy options often determines what renewable energy options might be approved or disapproved by secondary decision-makers.

Hawaii Story:  When primary decision-makers at an electric utility in Hawaii decide to adopt a large-scale wind generation option (e.g., a 25 MW wind generation facility on the island of Oahu) by entering into a long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with the owner of the facility, the primary decision-makers’ adoption of that option depends on approval of the PPA by the Hawaii Public Utilities Commission (a secondary decision-maker).  Adoption of the wind generation option also depends on approval by the Hawaii Board of Land and Natural Resources (a secondary decision-maker) of a Habitat Conservation Plan and Incidental Take License for the facility.

Why Might It Be Helpful for Reversing Global Warming to Distinguish Primary Decision-makers from Secondary Decision-makers?

Distinguishing primary decision-makers from secondary decision-makers might be helpful for reversing global warming because primary decision-makers’ swift decisions and swift action on those decisions — to adopt renewable energy options that avoid pouring greenhouse gases into the atmosphere – are what reverses global warming.

Secondary decision-makers may say “no” to some of those decisions. At the end of the day, the decisions that reverse global warming are primary decision-makers’ active decisions — to which secondary decision-makers do not say “no” — multiplied by millions of passive decisions by passive decision-makers.

From this point forward, when I refer to “decision-makers,” I mean primary decision-makers making active decisions to adopt energy options, because their active decisions are critical for reversing global warming.

If reversing global warming looks like primary decision-makers making active decisions – to adopt renewable energy options that avoid pouring greenhouse gases into the atmosphere – what might an active decision for adopting a renewable energy option look like?

*  *  *  *

“What might an active decision for adopting a renewable energy option look like?” might be a “right question” because it reveals its own answer based on what you already know about decisions:

First, you already know that a decision like that is often made by a group of people.

Second, you already know that when a group of people make a consensus decision that they want to do something, they can be counted on to do that thing.

Third, you already know that when a group of people make a consensus decision that they want to do something because they want the benefits of doing that thing, they can be counted on to do that thing.

Fourth, you already know that when people make a consensus decision that they want to do something because they have persuaded themselves (and are in consensus) that doing that thing delivers the greatest benefits, they can be counted on to do that thing.

Based on what you already know about decisions, you might answer the question, “What might an active decision for adopting a renewable energy option look like?” as follows:

First, an active decision to adopt a renewable energy option might look like a decision made by a group of decision-making people who are responsible for benefits delivered to users of the energy service provided by the option (that is, primary decision-makers).

The primary decision-makers who are responsible for benefits delivered by a renewable energy option to energy service users might depend on what kind of renewable energy option is being considered for adoption.

For purposes of deciding what primary decision-makers are responsible for benefits delivered by what renewable energy options, renewable energy options might be divided into two categories: renewable energy options that provide electric power services or heating & cooling services for stationary uses, and renewable energy options that provide transportation services for mobile uses, as shown in Figure 4:

For renewable energy options color-coded blue in Figure 4, people who make a decision to adopt a renewable energy option might look like people at a utility who make planning and procurement decisions to adopt renewable energy options.

Such people at the utility might make a decision to adopt a renewable energy option because such people are responsible for benefits delivered by the renewable energy option to users of the energy service provided by the option (that is, the utility’s customers).

Hawaii Story: In Hawaii, decision-makers who make decisions to adopt grid-connected renewable generation options are people at the electric utility who make planning and procurement decisions to adopt those options.

For renewable energy options color-coded green in Figure 4, people who make a decision to adopt a renewable energy option might look like people at a private enterprise who are responsible for making decisions to design and market renewable energy options that customers want to buy.

Such people might make a decision to adopt a renewable energy option because such people are responsible for benefits delivered by the option to users of the energy service delivered by the option (that is, the private enterprise’s customers).

Hawaii Story: Decision-makers who make decisions to adopt battery-powered electric vehicle (EV) options might look like people at an EV automaker company who make decisions to design and market battery-powered EVs that customers in Hawaii want to buy.

For renewable energy options color-coded pink in Figure 4, people who make a decision to adopt a renewable energy option might look like people at a government agency who are responsible for making planning and procurement decisions to adopt renewable energy options.

Such people might make a decision to adopt a renewable energy option because such people are responsible for benefits delivered by the option to users of the energy service provided by the option (that is, the government agency’s customers).

Hawaii Story: On the island of Oahu, decision-makers who make decisions to adopt an electric-powered rail transit option are people at the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation who make planning and procurement decisions to adopt that option.

Second, a decision to adopt a renewable energy option might look like a consensus decision made by a group of decision-making people (decision-makers) — within a utility, a private enterprise or a government agency – who are responsible for benefits delivered by the renewable energy option to users of the energy service provided by the option.

A decision to adopt a renewable energy option might look like such a consensus decision because — when such decision-makers are in consensus that they want to adopt a renewable energy option — they can be counted on to adopt that renewable energy option.

Third, a decision to adopt a renewable energy option might look like a consensus decision made by such decision-makers that they want to adopt that renewable energy options because they want the benefits of that renewable energy option for energy service users.

A decision to adopt a renewable energy option might look like such a consensus decision because — when decision-makers are in consensus that they want the benefits of a renewable energy option for energy service users — they can be counted on to adopt that renewable energy option.

Fourth, a decision to adopt a renewable energy option might look like a consensus decision made by such decision-makers that they want to adopt that renewable energy option because they have persuaded themselves (and are in consensus) that the renewable energy option delivers greatest benefits for energy service users.

A decision to adopt a renewable energy option might look like such a consensus decision because, when decision-makers have persuaded themselves (and are in consensus) that the renewable energy option delivers greatest benefits for energy service users, decision-makers can be counted on to adopt that renewable energy option.

*  *  *  *

When decision-makers ask themselves a second right question – “What might a decision for achieving 100% renewable energy look like?” – they engage themselves in thinking about the pre-existing answer revealed by that right question.

By thinking about that pre-existing answer – which might look like decision-makers making a consensus decision that they want to adopt a renewable energy option because they persuade themselves that the renewable energy option delivers greatest benefits for energy service users – decision-makers persuade themselves of that pre-existing answer.

By asking themselves that right question, decision-makers persuade themselves and come into consensus on that pre-existing answer, and they think it was their own idea.

*  *  *  *

Wondering what a decision-making process for achieving 100% renewable energy might look like?

My new book, You Can Reverse Global Warming, is the first-ever book to ask that right question and reveal a pre-existing answer to that question.

For a limited time, you can download a complimentary advance copy of You Can Reverse Global Warming at www.erikkvam.com.

*  *  *  *

Got questions about how you can swiftly achieve 100% renewable energy?  About how you can reverse global warming?  If you do, I hope that you will send me a message at extraordinary@erikkvam.com.

*  *  *  *

In the next article in this Reversing Global Warming series, I’ll show you what a decision-making process for achieving 100% renewable energy might look like.

Thank you for reading this article.  I’m grateful for your comments.