We continue to design massive hydroelectric and petroleum projects with regional and even
global economic, social, and environmental impact, building machines on a scale the world has
never seen. More importantly, initiatives for sustainable energy—wind, geothermal, and especially
solar—promise to fundamentally restructure the energy system itself, from a centrally based
system to a distributed network of energy production and consumption.
Energy changemaker
As Executive Director of the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF)
, Robert
Freling believes it’s unacceptable that two billion people still live without electricity, and
that turning this around is possible. Since 1995, Freling has worked with SELF, an organization
seeking to bring solar power and modern communications to rural villages in the developing world to
improve health, education, and economic well-being, to introduce photovoltaics and solar
rural electrification programs in Brazil, China, Indonesia, South Africa, and the Solomon Islands.
