Dr. Kutscher will provide up-to-date background on the seriousness of the climate change crisis and the many advantages of a reasonable energy transformation. Primarily, he will discuss the achievable approach of using solar and wind to produce enough electricity to satisfy all the energy needs possible, as well as the challenges of utilizing these variable energy sources.

Dr. Kutscher will also present an overview of how we can deal with energy needs that are more challenging to electrify as well as and the various means being explored for the very important step of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

Bio

Dr. Charles (Chuck) Kutscher is a Fellow and Senior Research Associate of the University of Colorado Renewable and Sustainable Energy Institute (RASEI). He spent 4 decades as a renewable energy researcher and manager at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and was the Director of the Buildings and Thermal Sciences Center when he retired in July 2018. He is a Fellow of the American Solar Energy Society (ASES) and served as the Society’s chair in 2000 and 2001. He led the 2007 ASES study, Tackling Climate Change in the U.S., and he is the lead author of the third edition of the college textbook, Principles of Sustainable Energy Systems. He has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Colorado-Boulder and the Colorado School of Mines. Dr. Kutscher has given presentations on climate change solutions throughout the US and abroad, and he has been involved in several recent climate change projects, including the RASEI report, Accelerating the US Clean Energy Transformation: Challenges and Solutions by Sector.