Power Surge

The world energy economy is poised for a sweeping shift away from imported oil and environmentally damaging coal during the next few decades, according to this newest book from the Worldwatch Institute. Power Surge anticipates a rapid move to more efficient, decentralized, and cleaner energy systems.

Among the changes expected: 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 turbines; a new generation of mass-produced wind and solar generators that are cost-competitive with the most advanced fossil plants; tiny fuel cells and rooftop solar panels that allow people to generate their own electricity; and the gradual emergence of hydrogen as the world's main energy carrier, supplanting oil and natural gas. The authors have searched around the world to identify dozens of compelling examples of recent deployments of new energy technologies by enterprising engineers, small entrepreneurs, and eccentric tinkerers, providing an early glimpse of the massive changes ahead.

Power Surge predicts a turbulent next decade, as large energy companies struggle to preserve the status quo while newer firms and their environmental allies fight to change government policy and open up the energy markets to greater competition.

1994 / paper / ISBN 0-393-31199-6 / Charts, figures / 300 pages / ENVIROSMENTAL ISSUES/CURRENT EVENTS

• Also in the Worldwatch Environmental Alert series: Saving the Planet, How Much Is Enough?, and Last Oasis.
• Christopher Flavin is a vice president and Nicholas Lenssen is a researcher at the Worldwatch Institute, Washington, D.C.