Going for imperative

More and better education is a prerequisite for rapid development of renewable energy industry, growth of the businesses and markets. Education stimulates economic growth and improves people’s lives, and empowers individuals and governments make right decisions and support renewable energy development. On the other hand, nation’s commitment to education is both demand-lead and supply-lead [8].

For example, with surging interest from the residential construction sector and new requirements for utilities to generate portions of their energy from renewable sources, the renewable energy industry in the U. S. is flourishing, and job opportunities are increasing. As the industry grows, however, a workforce shortage is expected [9].

In Armenia, education about renewable energy has mostly been limited to learning tracks and seminars at industry tradeshows and conferences. Clean energy should start playing a significant role in people’s lives, and thus teaching of renewable energy should be emphasized in education and public awareness campaigns. Education in renewable energy fields should become a priority for the state. Some curriculum developers and teachers in both schools and academic institutions should incorporate renewable energy related activities in their curricula.

As mentioned earlier, one of barriers to mainstream adoption of renewable energy systems is the lack of awareness among consumers. Many consumers have heard at least some reference to renewable energy at various times in their lives, but they do not know how to incorporate it into their daily lives and they lack the necessary knowledge to purchase and utilize renewable energy technologies.

"There are a lot of great engineering and architectural firms that want to do things with energy but aren’t quite sure what to do with them. We need to educate more people," says Michael J. Newtown, director of the State University of New York-Canton’s (SUNY-Canton) Alternative and

Renewable Energy Applications degree program. "As engineering and architectural firms come together, there really is a need to educate the populace on how renewable energy gets used, and where it gets used, and what’s the best application" [9].

At this stage, the limitation of reaching the set targets for renewable energy development is indeed related to education and training. Per words of Dr. Ad van Wijk, Chairman and Founder of Econcern (the Netherlands) “we developed many scenarios for the integration of wind power and energy efficiency. The reality has always exceeded the most optimistic scenarios. The only thing that is limiting goals is a shortage of skilled people. We have train and educate in a range of skills and technologies that are not traditionally taught in colleges and universities. It is a real challenge”

[10] .

The importance of general public education is proved by lack of understanding by a consumer of the technology. While, numerous surveys have confirmed widespread public interest in renewable energy, hurdles identified by the California Energy Commission (CEC) included [11]:

• lack of awareness about choice and how to switch to new, and fear of switching and losing reliability

• price premium for renewable energy with return on the investment unclear

• lack of knowledge regarding the environmental impacts of electric generation and the benefits of renewables

• lack of knowledge regarding the equipment and its technology application and availability

• a perception that the installation processing is difficult and complicated

• difficulty in finding a qualified installer and lack of trusted references from (friends, neighbours, etc.) that have installed their own solar or wind systems.