The Energy Transition at Ground Level

The herculean task of shifting the energy sector away from fossil fuels and toward efficient, renewable sources is increasingly a focus of policymaking in the United States. Leaders have called for the energy transition to slow climate change, reduce pollution, create good-paying jobs, and make the US economy more sustainable.

But what does the energy transition feel like in a community such as Port Arthur, Texas—home to some of the most extensive oil and gas infrastructure on the planet—as it becomes a hub for massive carbon capture and sequestration projects? How will it affect residents of Homer City, Pennsylvania, where the recent closure of its coal-fired power plant meant the loss of more than 120 jobs? Where does it leave the students and faculty of petroleum geoengineering departments as enrollment rates have fallen 75% over the last decade?

Paying attention only to the big picture can mean missing how this transition plays out on the ground. “The reality is that local communities … won’t feel these jobs trends as smoothed curves,” write Jillian Miles , Christophe Combemale , and Valerie Karplus , “but as shocks to their economic equilibrium, with deeply personal consequences.” Their essay, along with reporting from Port Arthur by Tristan Baurick and a look inside petroleum science and engineering departments by Rasoul Sorkhabi and Milind Deo , is part of a special series in the Fall 2023 Issues. These essays examine how the energy transition affects different communities?and how helping them manage the transition could mean a brighter, greener future for all.

To read this series—along with essays on the quantum workforce, resiliency lessons from Ukraine, instilling a risk-taking culture in a government agency, and much more—subscribe to the print edition of Issues today.