Veterans in Advanced Energy Profile: Warren Sakey
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Warren Sakey, a 2021-2022 Veterans advanced energy fellow
Warren Sakey, a 2021-2022 Veterans Advanced Energy Fellow, served as a US Army transportation officer organizing convoys in Afghanistan. This firsthand experience in nation-building by developing new infrastructure led him back to school for infrastructure finance before joining the renewable energy industry. Transforming energy infrastructure, he says, will improve national security and economic stability by reducing reliance on international commodities like oil and gas while also mitigating long-term climate effects.
What are you most excited about in advanced energy developments, and what are you most concerned about?
I’m most excited about the scale and breadth of possibilities. It's incredible how many opportunities there are in the energy space to transform the way we get our energy and organize our society. I think what I'm most concerned about is that as a society, or as a species, we may not be able to rise to the occasion with the level of organization, coordination, and cooperation that is required for such a significant undertaking.
Why did you join the military and what was your role?
I like to joke that the reason I joined the military is because I was a philosophy major who graduated in 2010, the worst job market since the Great Depression. I think the real reason I joined the military was because I always wanted to serve and knew the military would give me a good foundation to do anything afterwards. It would teach me the soft skills for leadership and organization that I knew would serve me no matter what I did. Logistics in the US Army is split between three branches: quartermaster, ordinance, and transportation. I was a transportation officer.
How did the military influence your career trajectory into energy?
When I was in Afghanistan, organizing and executing convoys got me interested in infrastructure development. I saw firsthand how infrastructure development is nation building. When I got back to the US, I went to graduate school to focus on infrastructure finance. I became increasingly interested in the massive need for an energy infrastructure transformation because of climate change, the supply chain vulnerabilities associated with traditional fuel-based energy sources, and all of the ancillary impacts that energy infrastructure has on the rest of society.
Why is energy important to US National Security?
We get a lot of coal, oil, and gas domestically but those commodities are priced according to the geopolitics of whatever is happening internationally. Americans are experiencing real pain at the pump and natural gas prices are more than doubling because of what's happening with Russia and Ukraine. Energy independence from commodities is a way of enhancing US national security by bringing more economic stability. On the long-term strategic level, there is also great insecurity associated with climate change. The disruptive forces of climate change—and the energy transformation to mitigate the long-term effects of climate change—is also why energy is incredibly important to national security.
There is also an opportunity for the military to be a leader in this space. The military has an opportunity to enhance energy independence to push new technologies like microgrids, energy storage, and distributed generation from renewable sources. The military can make these more accessible by being a first mover.
Do you have advice you would like to share with other veterans?
When I got out of the military, I felt a little lost about what I wanted to do and how to have a purpose. Energy is an important mission right now and I think any veteran who's transitioning and unsure where they might fit in the civilian world should look at energy. It's a really important space to contribute to society and challenge yourself personally.
What are you most looking forward to about the Veterans Advanced Energy Fellowship?
Learning from one another has been the most inspiring part. We all bring different pieces of the puzzle and through our shared experience can put together this tapestry by learning from each other in the process.
