Climate change is no longer deniable. Neither is the fact that greenhouse gas emissions due to human activities need to be mitigated. The question is how to rapidly transit to an increasingly low-carbon world while essentially sustaining the quality of life of the fortunate and providing better lives for the less fortunate.
The challenge is to decarbonize both energy consumption and production with electricity at the core of energy systems.
Perhaps Energia, a fictitious country whose 50 million inhabitants endorse climate change objectives and that embodies the energy mutations proposed by the authors, has the answers. Along with Energia, four families living in Africa, America, Asia and Europe who represent us, the consumer, set the stage for the book's discussions.
On the user front, the presentation primarily focuses on energy consumption at home and for transport. On the energy production front, the focus shifts to the integration of renewables with fossil and nuclear energy. The book's coverage includes crucial systemic issues related to energy storage, electric power systems and multi-energy systems. In a dedicated chapter, the authors put forward their energy and environmental public policy observations and proposals, including a carbon fee scheme.
Electricity is written for readers interested and concerned by the environmental and energy challenges we face, and who seek to participate, as well-informed citizens, in discussions on future energy-related options. The book provides a balanced, factual and unemotional presentation of readily available energy systems and technologies which, when widely deployed, can contribute, both short and long term, toward a low-carbon and electricity-centered world.
Supplementary Materials
Companion Document (8MB)
Sample Chapter(s)
Preamble and Reader‘s Guide
Contents:
- About the Authors
- With Appreciation
- Preamble and Reader's Guide
- Setting the Stage:
- The Lives of Four Families — An Energy Perspective
- Energia — A Modern Country with a Long History
- Energy and Emissions — Where We Are
- Energy Consumptions and Emissions:
- Housing — At Home
- Transport and Travel — Daily Commutes, Travels and Transport
- Industry and Agriculture — Producing Goods and Food
- Industry and Services — At the Office and in Public Spaces
- How Electricity is Produced:
- Introductory Remarks
- Hydro Energy — Using Water
- Combustion Thermal Power Plants — Burning Fossil Fuels
- Nuclear Thermal Power Plants — Splitting the Atom
- Solar Energy — Using the Sun
- Wind Energy — Using Wind
- Geothermal Energy — Using the Earth's Heat
- An Ever-more Ubiquitous Electricity:
- Energy Storage
- Electric Power Systems — From Power Plants to End-users
- Multi-Energy Systems
- Where We Should Be Heading:
- Public Policy and Carbon Fee
- Energia's Energy Mutation — Principles and Application
- To Conclude:
- Four Families in 2035
- Conclusion — We Have the Technologies — Let's All Get Going
- Annex:
- Companion Document — Alphabetical Order
- Units and Reference Values
- Website Acronyms
- Selected Electric Energy Installations Mentioned
- Index
- Endorsement
Readership: Individuals broadly interested in and intrigued by the environmental and energy challenges along with public and private sector leaders who desire to fully apprehend the potential outcomes of various public policy paths pertaining to energy, and who seek to be better prepared when making energy decisions and participating in related political and public policy decision making processes. The reader is assumed to have a university-level general education but may not have a scientific background.
"Electricity: Humanity's Low-Carbon Future is a well-written book … it is suitable for undergraduate-level engineering students taking a first class on sustainable and renewable energy systems or as a reference for students in more advanced classes. The book will be of interest for practicing engineers seeing a better understanding of trade-offs between different options for alternate forms of power generation, energy storage, or conservation. I commend the authors for a well-written book, and I look forward to using it with my students." [Read Full Review]
Professor Brian Johnson, PhD, PE
University Distinguished Professor, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Endowed Chair in Power Engineering
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Idaho, USA
Power & Energy Magazine, IEEE
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Hans B (Teddy) Püttgen is Power Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) (1981–2006) and Fellow of IEEE. He was Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) Professor and Energy Management Chair & Director Energy Center from 2006–2013, and Visiting Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Senior Director at the Energy Research Institute from 2013–2017. Other past positions he has held include: President and CEO of Georgia Tech Lorraine — European campus of Georgia Tech located in Metz, France; Director and Management Board Chair, National Electric Energy Research and Application Center (NEETRAC) — Georgia Tech; President IEEE Power and Energy Society, IEEE — PES; Member of the Swiss Federal Energy Research Commission (CORE); Member of the Global Agenda Council for Alternative Energies — World Economic Forum; and Member of the Board — Swiss Federal Competence Center for Energy & Mobility.
Yves Bamberger is Fellow of the National Academy of technologies of France (NATAF). Yves has worked at the Central Laboratory for Bridges and Roads (1973–1980), Électricité de France (EDF; a nuclear electric power generation company (1980–2014), and as a part-time Professor of Mechanics and Strengths of Materials at Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées (1973–2000). Other past positions he has held include: Information Systems Director of EDF; Deputy Director of the generation and Transmission Division; Senior VP, Head of EDF Research and Development; Scientific Advisor of EDF's Chairman and CEO; President of Club Informatique des Grandes Entreprises Françaises (CIGREF); Member of the Gartner Research Board — New York; Board member of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) — Palo Alto; Member of the Global Agenda Council for Alternative Energies — World Economic Forum; Member of the first Smart Grids European Technology Platform.