Smart Power: Climate Change, Smart Grid and the Future of Electric Utilities

In a new book, Smart Power: Climate Change, Smart Grid and the Future of Electric Utilities (Island Press, 2010), Dr. Peter Fox-Penner, a leading expert on the electricity sector and the smart grid, examines strategies for the development of an energy efficient business model for the utility industry. In the book, Fox-Penner reviews the current prospects for long-term power generation alternatives, from solar panels attached to our homes and offices, to new coal-burning plants that will allow for the capture and sequestration of carbon emissions. Smart Power explains how and why the utility industry must adapt to the climate imperative by examining the industry’s technology, cost characteristics, ability to function as a sustainable business, as well as the practical and political dimensions of making these dramatic changes.

On April 9, the Brookings Institution hosted Dr. Fox-Penner for a discussion of Smart Power. Following his presentation, a panel of experts shared their perspectives on the future of U.S. energy and climate policy and the importance of the development of the smart grid for meeting our energy goals. Senior Fellow Charles Ebinger, director of the Energy Security Initiative at Brookings, provided introductory remarks and moderated this discussion.

After the program, panelists took audience questions.