Dear friends and colleagues,
I am pleased to announce the publication of my book through The MIT Press.
MIT Press
Modernizing America's Electricity Infrastructure
A
comprehensive, coherent strategy for modernizing America’s electricity
infrastructure while ensuring affordable, reliable, secure, and
environmentally sustainable electricity services.
Hardcover | $25.00 Short | £19.95 | 320 pp. | 6 x 9 in | 16 figures | September 2017 | ISBN: 9780262036795
eBook | $18.00 Short | October 2017 | ISBN: 9780262342391
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Friends and colleagues of the author can receive a special 30% discount on the book’s list price when ordering it directly through the MIT Press website (https://mitpress.mit.edu/mode
Overview
America’s
aging electricity infrastructure is deteriorating rapidly even as the
need for highly reliable electric service—driven by the explosion of
digital technology—continues to rise. Largely missing from national
discussions, however, is a coherent, comprehensive national strategy for
modernizing this critical infrastructure. Energy expert Mason Willrich
presents just such a strategy in this book, connecting the dots across
electric utilities, independent suppliers, government bureaucracies,
political jurisdictions, and academic disciplines. He explains the need
for a coherent approach, offers a framework for analyzing policy
options, and proposes a step-by-step strategy for modernizing electrical
infrastructure, end-to-end, in a way that ensures the delivery of
affordable, reliable, secure, and environmentally sustainable
electricity services.
Willrich argues that an effective electrical infrastructure modernization strategy must incorporate flexibility, adaptability, and the capacity to coordinate policies at local, state, and federal levels. He reviews the history of America’s electrification, from Edison’s demonstration of the incandescent light bulb through the recent expansion of wind, solar, and energy efficiency as carbon-free energy resources. He describes the current ownership and operation of the electric industry and the complicated web of federal and state policies that govern it.
Willrich argues that an effective electrical infrastructure modernization strategy must incorporate flexibility, adaptability, and the capacity to coordinate policies at local, state, and federal levels. He reviews the history of America’s electrification, from Edison’s demonstration of the incandescent light bulb through the recent expansion of wind, solar, and energy efficiency as carbon-free energy resources. He describes the current ownership and operation of the electric industry and the complicated web of federal and state policies that govern it.
About the Author
Mason
Willrich is an independent energy consultant. During a distinguished
career of more than five decades, he has worked as a senior executive in
the electric utility industry and the independent power industry as
well as in academia and the U.S. government. His books include Energy and World Politics and Non-Proliferation Treaty: Framework for Nuclear Arms Control.
Endorsements
“Mason
Willrich draws on a lifetime of experience and his innate common sense
to provide an important strategy for dealing with our electricity
infrastructure. Read and learn.”
—George P. Shultz, Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Distinguished Fellow and Chairman, Energy Policy Task Force, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
—George P. Shultz, Thomas W. and Susan B. Ford Distinguished Fellow and Chairman, Energy Policy Task Force, Hoover Institution, Stanford University
“Even
experts will learn much, and nonexperts far more, from this magisterial
and admirably clear overview of America’s electricity system by one of
its most distinguished experts.”
—Amory B. Lovins, Cofounder and Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute; lead author of Small Is Profitable, Brittle Power, and Reinventing Fire
—Amory B. Lovins, Cofounder and Chief Scientist, Rocky Mountain Institute; lead author of Small Is Profitable, Brittle Power, and Reinventing Fire
“Mason
Willrich provides us with a compelling model for modernizing the U.S.
electric power infrastructure to take full advantage of no- and
low-carbon generation technologies. Firmly grounded in history, industry
economics, and technological innovation, this is a book that everyone
should read.”
—Paul L. Joskow, President, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics, Emeritus, MIT
—Paul L. Joskow, President, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation; Elizabeth and James Killian Professor of Economics, Emeritus, MIT
“Mason
Willrich is a leading expert on energy issues, and emphasizes the
importance of the electricity sector to the country and everyone’s
lives. He points out that investments in energy infrastructure and
modernizing the energy grid need to be a national priority in order to
ensure that we retain reliable, affordable, secure, and increasingly
clean energy. Although some of Mason’s recommendations are
controversial, and I disagree with some of them, the book is a great
read.”
—Thomas R. Kuhn, President, Edison Electric Institute, association representing all U.S. investor-owned electric companies
—Thomas R. Kuhn, President, Edison Electric Institute, association representing all U.S. investor-owned electric companies
“The
power grid is the most important physical-cyber system on the planet,
and what Mason Willrich has done here is no less than to provide us a
brilliant theoretical and practical guide to its vitally needed upgrade
for the 21st century.”
—Daniel Kammen, Professor, University of California, Berkeley; Science Envoy, U.S. State Department
—Daniel Kammen, Professor, University of California, Berkeley; Science Envoy, U.S. State Department
Comments from readers are welcome.
Best wishes,
Mason
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