Life is full of twists and turns, including midlife career pivots. For former big oil engineer David Clarke, this second act came in the form of renewable energies, Inside Climate News reported.
Clarke set up a life in Alaska through his work, but then BP left the state and sold off its assets there. Since then, Clarke has shifted gears to try to rework the state's reliance on polluting energy sources and promote its clean energy potential.
Partnered with Simon Harrison, another former oil engineer, Clarke is putting together plans for several new projects in the Cook Inlet region. The prospects range from solar, volcanic geothermal, and tidal energies, to offshore wind.
Indeed, one of his biggest ideas is to build an energy complex in the town of Nikiski, where offshore wind electricity is harnessed to make hydrogen. From there, the hydrogen can be converted into useful substances, such as a sustainable fuel for boats and planes, ICN explained.
Many Alaskans are all for the new ideas, yet some remain skeptical. After all, dirty oil and gas production still financially supports the lion's share of the state in some way, so it's not easy to just pull the plug.
Still, the state is seeing dramatic impacts of a warming planet, including reduced sea ice for walruses and polar bears, eroding villages, and pollution and heat waves in water bodies that have impacted the abundance of marine life, according to ICN.
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Clarke hopes his past experience can help get new, cleaner energy sources off the ground in Alaska. The more energy produced using these clean methods, the lower the impact on the state's natural resources will be — and the safer its economy will be too, with the state's crab and fish among sources of income for residents.
"We're working on developing the concept, and then bigger players can come in and take over," Clarke told ICN.
"We saw this as a step forward for the climate, and really, really good for Alaska," he continued. "Alaska has got phenomenal—absolutely phenomenal—renewable resources."
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