Power Surge: Guide to the Coming Energy Revolution

According to the findings of this book the world energy economy is poised for a sweeping shift away from imported oil and environmentally damaging coal during the next few decades. Pushed by the need to stabilize the earths climate and pulled by the investment opportunities that beckon the global energy markets are beginning to make a rapid move to a more efficient decentralized and cleaner system echoing the shift from mainframe to personal computers during the 1980s. Among the emerging changes expected are a new generation of lightweight super-efficient electric cars that can be refueled at home; the rapid conversion of coal and nuclear plants to efficient gas turbine plants; a new generation of mass-produced wind and solar generators that are cost-competitive with the most advance fossil plants; tiny fuel cells and rooftop solar panels that allow people to generate their own electricity; and the gradual emergence of nonpolluting hydrogen as the worlds main energy carrier supplanting oil and natural gas. The book identifies recent deployments of new energy technologies by enterprising engineers small entrepreneurs and eccentric tinkers in countries around the world providing an early glimpse of the massive changes ahead. The book predicts a turbulent next decade as large energy companies struggle to preserve the status quo and newer firms and their environmental allies fight to change government policy and open up energy markets to greater competition.