Power after Carbon
Power after Carbon

Author: Peter Fox-Penner

Publisher: Harvard University Press

Published: 2020-05-19

Total Pages: 457

ISBN-13: 0674245628

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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 small: 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.

Carbon-free and Nuclear-free
Carbon-free and Nuclear-free

Author: Arjun Makhijani

Publisher: RDR Books

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 300

ISBN-13: 9781571431738

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In a world confronting global climate change, political turmoil among oil exporting nations, nuclear weapons proliferation, nuclear plant safety and waste disposal issues, the United States must assume a leadership role in moving to a zero-CO2-emissions energy economy. At the same time America needs to take the lead in reducing the world's reliance on nuclear power. This breakthrough joint study by the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research and the Nuclear Policy Research Institute shows how our energy needs can be met by alternative sources, as wind, solar, hydrogen, biomass, microalgae, geothermal and wave power are all part of the solution. Must reading for everyone concerned with energy politics and the planet's future, Carbon-Free is already making headlines.

Power to Save the World
Power to Save the World

Author: Gwyneth Cravens

Publisher: Vintage

Published: 2010-12-01

Total Pages: 466

ISBN-13: 030726856X

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An informed look at the myths and fears surrounding nuclear energy, and a practical, politically realistic solution to global warming and our energy needs. Faced by the world's oil shortages and curious about alternative energy sources, Gwyneth Cravens skeptically sets out to find the truth about nuclear energy. Her conclusion: it is a totally viable and practical solution to global warming. In the end, we see that if we are to care for subsequent generations, embracing nuclear energy is an ethical imperative.

Fossil Free
Fossil Free

Author: No Author

Publisher: Harper Collins

Published: 2020-10-30

Total Pages: 366

ISBN-13: 9390327016

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REIMAGINING A CLEANER, GREENER, CARBON-FREE WORLD! The current global energy use, with its overwhelming dependence on fossil fuels, has taken global warming to dangerous levels. Climate change is already hitting us hard, through adverse effects on global food availability, biodiversity, rising sea levels and extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and floods. In the last decade, a major transformation-the transition to clean, affordable and sustainable energy from the sun and the wind-is beginning to address these challenges. Fossil Free provides a concise introduction to the challenges, realities and complexities of the global and local energy industry, as well as the trends and forces driving the energy transition. It explains how improved electricity infrastructure, decentralized smart grids, electric vehicles, energy storage and market design are already providing clear pathways for the transition towards green, efficient, affordable and secure renewable energy across the energy-use chain: extraction, conversion, transmission, distribution and end use. For over a decade, Sumant Sinha has had a ringside view of the energy scenario. Having founded and helmed India's leading clean energy company, his understanding of the global energy landscape and climate change brings a unique, holistic perspective on energy. With Fossil Free, Sinha shares his vision for energy which is not only clean, but also practical and affordable.

Reinventing Fire
Reinventing Fire

Author: Amory Lovins

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2011-10-15

Total Pages: 4

ISBN-13: 1603583726

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Imagine fuel without fear. No climate change. No oil spills, no dead coalminers, no dirty air, no devastated lands, no lost wildlife. No energy poverty. No oil-fed wars, tyrannies, or terrorists. No leaking nuclear wastes or spreading nuclear weapons. Nothing to run out. Nothing to cut off. Nothing to worry about. Just energy abundance, benign and affordable, for all, forever. That richer, fairer, cooler, safer world is possible, practical, even profitable-because saving and replacing fossil fuels now works better and costs no more than buying and burning them. Reinventing Fire shows how business-motivated by profit, supported by civil society, sped by smart policy-can get the US completely off oil and coal by 2050, and later beyond natural gas as well. Authored by a world leader on energy and innovation, the book maps a robust path for integrating real, here-and-now, comprehensive energy solutions in four industries-transportation, buildings, electricity, and manufacturing-melding radically efficient energy use with reliable, secure, renewable energy supplies.Popular in tone and rooted in applied hope, Reinventing Fire shows how smart businesses are creating a potent, global, market-driven, and explosively growing movement to defossilize fuels. It points readers to trillions in savings over the next 40 years, and trillions more in new business opportunities.Whether you care most about national security, or jobs and competitive advantage, or climate and environment, this major contribution by world leaders in energy innovation offers startling innovations will support your values, inspire your support, and transform your sense of possibility.Pragmatic citizens today are more interested in outcomes than motives. Reinventing Fire answers this trans-ideological call. Whether you care most about national security, or jobs and competitive advantage, or climate and environment, its startling innovations will support your values, inspire your support, and transform your sense of possibility.

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster
How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

Author: Bill Gates

Publisher: Knopf Canada

Published: 2021-02-16

Total Pages: 240

ISBN-13: 0735280452

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NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NATIONAL BESTSELLER In this urgent, singularly authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical--and accessible--plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid an irreversible climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help and guidance of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science and finance, he has focused on exactly what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide toward certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only gathers together all the information we need to fully grasp how important it is that we work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases but also details exactly what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. He describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions; where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively; where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions--suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but by following the guidelines he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.

Generating Electricity in a Carbon-Constrained World
Generating Electricity in a Carbon-Constrained World

Author: Fereidoon Sioshansi

Publisher: Academic Press

Published: 2009-10-21

Total Pages: 633

ISBN-13: 0080889719

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The electric power sector is what keeps modern economies going, and historically, fossil fuels provided the bulk of the energy need to generate electricity, with coal a dominant player in many parts of the world. Now with growing concerns about global climate change, this historical dependence on fossil-fuels, especially those rich in carbon, are being questioned. Examining the implications of the industry's future in a carbon-constrained world, a distinct reality, is the subject of this book. Containing contributions from renowned scholars and academics from around the world, this book explores the various energy production options available to power companies in a carbon-constrained world. The three part treatment starts with a clear and rigorous exposition of the short term options including Clean Coal and Carbon Capture and Sequestration Technology, Coal, and Emission trading. Renewable energy options such as Nuclear Energy, Wind power, Solar power, Hydro-electric, and Geothermal energy are clearly explained along with their trade-offs and uncertainties inherent in evaluating and choosing different energy options and provides a framework for assessing policy solutions. This is followed by self-contained chapters of case-studies from all over the world. Other topics discussed in the book are Creating markets for tradable permits in the emerging carbon era, Global Action on Climate Change, The Impossibility of Staunching World CO2 Emissions and Energy efficiency. - Clearly explains short term and long term options - Contributions from renowned scholars and academics from around the world - Case-studies from all over the world

How Solar Energy Became Cheap
How Solar Energy Became Cheap

Author: Gregory F. Nemet

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-05-20

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 0429643853

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Solar energy is a substantial global industry, one that has generated trade disputes among superpowers, threatened the solvency of large energy companies, and prompted serious reconsideration of electric utility regulation rooted in the 1930s. One of the biggest payoffs from solar’s success is not the clean inexpensive electricity it can produce, but the lessons it provides for innovation in other technologies needed to address climate change. Despite the large literature on solar, including analyses of increasingly detailed datasets, the question as to how solar became inexpensive and why it took so long still remains unanswered. Drawing on developments in the US, Japan, Germany, Australia, and China, this book provides a truly comprehensive and international explanation for how solar has become inexpensive. Understanding the reasons for solar’s success enables us to take full advantage of solar’s potential. It can also teach us how to support other low-carbon technologies with analogous properties, including small modular nuclear reactors and direct air capture. However, the urgency of addressing climate change means that a key challenge in applying the solar model is in finding ways to speed up innovation. Offering suggestions and policy recommendations for accelerated innovation is another key contribution of this book. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy technology and innovation, climate change and energy analysis and policy, as well as practitioners and policymakers working in the existing and emerging energy industries.

A Bright Future
A Bright Future

Author: Joshua S. Goldstein

Publisher: PublicAffairs

Published: 2019-01-08

Total Pages: 199

ISBN-13: 1541724097

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The inspiration for Nuclear Now, the new Oliver Stone film, co-written by Joshua Goldstein As climate change quickly approaches a series of turning points that guarantee disastrous outcomes, a solution is hiding in plain sight. Several countries have already replaced fossil fuels with low-carbon energy sources, and done so rapidly, in one to two decades. By following their methods, we could decarbonize the global economy by midcentury, replacing fossil fuels even while world energy use continues to rise. But so far we have lacked the courage to really try. In this clear-sighted and compelling book, Joshua Goldstein and Staffan Qvist explain how clean energy quickly replaced fossil fuels in such places as Sweden, France, South Korea, and Ontario. Their people enjoyed prosperity and growing energy use in harmony with the natural environment. They didn't do this through personal sacrifice, nor through 100 percent renewables, but by using them in combination with an energy source the Swedes call käkraft, hundreds of times safer and cleaner than coal. Clearly written and beautifully illustrated, yet footnoted with extensive technical references, Goldstein and Qvist's book will provide a new touchstone in discussions of climate change. It could spark a shift in world energy policy that, in the words of Steven Pinker's foreword, literally saves the world.