A Delphi Study To Project The Future Of Alternative Energy And Its Implication To Engineering Technology

The future of energy supplies in our world is largely in question. It is widely accepted that the world’s inhabitants cannot continue to depend on traditional, non-renewable, fuels as they harm the environment and are in limited supply. Researchers and research organizations worldwide have committed themselves to the research and development of alternative energies and its storage and must put out a similar effort to educate the general public and future energy users and decision makers in the alternative energies being developed. This paper reports the findings of a Delphi study conducted by the authors to determine what components should be included in the curriculum of an alternative energy program and also find out what emerging technologies are likely to have the most impact over the next 5-20 years. According to the Delphi panel of experts, most of the obstacles to alternative energy development are more political in nature than technical.