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Power After Carbon: Building a Clean, Resilient Grid
As the electric power industry faces the challenges of climate change, technological disruption, new market imperatives, and changing policies, a renowned energy expert offers a roadmap to the future of this essential sector.
As the damaging and costly impacts of climate change increase, the rapid development of sustainable energy has taken on great urgency. The electricity industry has responded with necessary but wrenching shifts toward renewables, even as it faces unprecedented challenges and disruption brought on by new technologies, new competitors, and policy changes. The result is a collision course between a grid that must provide abundant, secure, flexible, and affordable power, and an industry facing enormous demands for power and rapid, systemic change.
The fashionable solution is to think smart buildings, small-scale renewables, and locally distributed green energy. But Peter Fox-Penner makes clear that these will not be enough to meet our increasing needs for electricity. He points instead to the indispensability of large power systems, battery storage, and scalable carbon-free power technologies, along with the grids and markets that will integrate them. The electric power industry and its regulators will have to provide all of these, even as they grapple with changing business models for local electric utilities, political instability, and technological change. Power after Carbon makes sense of all the moving parts, providing actionable recommendations for anyone involved with or relying on the electric power system.
As the damaging and costly impacts of climate change increase, the rapid development of sustainable energy has taken on great urgency. The electricity industry has responded with necessary but wrenching shifts toward renewables, even as it faces unprecedented challenges and disruption brought on by new technologies, new competitors, and policy changes. The result is a collision course between a grid that must provide abundant, secure, flexible, and affordable power, and an industry facing enormous demands for power and rapid, systemic change.
The fashionable solution is to think smart buildings, small-scale renewables, and locally distributed green energy. But Peter Fox-Penner makes clear that these will not be enough to meet our increasing needs for electricity. He points instead to the indispensability of large power systems, battery storage, and scalable carbon-free power technologies, along with the grids and markets that will integrate them. The electric power industry and its regulators will have to provide all of these, even as they grapple with changing business models for local electric utilities, political instability, and technological change. Power after Carbon makes sense of all the moving parts, providing actionable recommendations for anyone involved with or relying on the electric power system.
- GenresNonfiction
456 pages, Hardcover
Published May 19, 2020
11 people are currently reading
201 people want to read
About the author
Peter Fox-Penner
11 books3 followersDr. Peter Fox-Penner, principal and chairman emeritus, specializes in economic, regulatory, and strategic issues in network industries. His practice centers on energy and environmental policies and electric regulatory planning and competition issues. He is also experienced in the natural gas, communications, transportation, and environmental industries and is a frequent expert witness on these issues.
He is a frequent speaker on energy topics and the author of numerous published articles and books, including the highly acclaimed Electric Utility Restructuring: A Guide to the Competitive Era and his new book from Island Press, Smart Power: Climate Change, the Smart Grid, and the Future of Electric Utilities.
In Smart Power, Dr. Fox-Penner provides an in-depth look at the policy and business challenges electric utilities face due to the combined impacts of climate change, the smart grid, and energy efficiency policies. Drawing upon his expertise as a utility consultant, Dr. Fox-Penner examines potential sustainable business models and reviews the current prospects for long-term power generation alternatives."
He is a frequent speaker on energy topics and the author of numerous published articles and books, including the highly acclaimed Electric Utility Restructuring: A Guide to the Competitive Era and his new book from Island Press, Smart Power: Climate Change, the Smart Grid, and the Future of Electric Utilities.
In Smart Power, Dr. Fox-Penner provides an in-depth look at the policy and business challenges electric utilities face due to the combined impacts of climate change, the smart grid, and energy efficiency policies. Drawing upon his expertise as a utility consultant, Dr. Fox-Penner examines potential sustainable business models and reviews the current prospects for long-term power generation alternatives."
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
November 15, 2024
I read this in prep for a conference. I thought it gave a good summary about the energy transition from a US perspective. I would recommend as a useful resource but I like Jacobson’s “No Miracles Needed” or “Electrify” by Saul Griffith more because of the ease of narrative. However, this book doesn’t provide opinions (for the most part) so if you want some factual evidence without a narrative this would be it. I found it slow but concise.
December 26, 2020
Fantastic description of the future of the grid and utility business models.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews