Fourth Phase, The: Towards the Foundation of Our Future Energy System

Our Renewable Energy Future focuses on clean energy technology evolution and where our energy system is going. While its foundation is technology innovation, it brings a unique perspective that technology alone is not what has brought about the explosive growth of renewable energy.The book offers fresh insights into how technology, economics, social dynamics, policy, and geopolitics are forces at play, affecting our energy future. It builds off Dr Arent’s lifelong passion for energy, sustainable development, and in particular, renewable energy technologies. Dr Arent’s journey began in high school, as a keen student of math and science, watching the global oil crisis unfold in 1973. The US responded with a series of actions, including establishing what was then called the Solar Energy Research Institute. The idea of a renewable energy future stuck, which Dr Arent follows as he covers the journey of technology evolution, economics, political economy and geopolitics of clean energy over the last 40 years, and provides insights for the next decades. From a technology perspective, we’ll trace the arc of recent innovations, and synthesize innovations across multiple interacting perspectives into a description of Our Renewable Energy Future.