''The Dirty Energy Dilemma: What’s Blocking Clean Power in the United States'' is a 2008 book by academic

Benjamin K. Sovacool Benjamin K. Sovacool is an American and British academic who is director of the Institute for Global Sustainability at Boston University as well as Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University. He was formerly Director of the Danish Ce ...

, published by Praeger. In the book, Sovacool explores problems with the current U.S. electricity system and ways to overcome them.

Synopsis

In the first part of the book, Sovacool explores the problems with the current system of large-scale electricity generation being used in the United States, powered by

fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...

s and

nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...

reactors. He identifies "The Big Four Energy Challenges" as rising fossil fuel costs, increasing pollution, inefficient and brittle transmission networks, as well as widespread system vulnerability to natural disasters, sabotage, and financial manipulations. "The Big Four Clean Solutions" of

renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...

efficient energy use Efficient energy use, or energy efficiency, is the process of reducing the amount of energy required to provide products and services. There are many technologies and methods available that are more energy efficient than conventional systems. For ...

, distributed generation, and

combined heat and power Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to electricity generation, generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise ...

will do a better job of providing needed energy while protecting consumers and the planet. Sovacool suggests that the barriers to clean energy adoption are institutional, not technological, and he sees no role for nuclear power in a clean

energy transition An energy transition (or energy system transformation) is a major structural change to energy supply and consumption in an energy system. Currently, a transition to sustainable energy is underway to limit climate change. Most of the sustainab ...

.Scott Victor Valentine
The Dirty Energy Dilemma: What’s Blocking Clean Power in the United States (Book Review)
, ''

Energy Policy Energy policies are the government's strategies and decisions regarding the Energy production, production, Energy distribution, distribution, and World energy supply and consumption, consumption of energy within a specific jurisdiction. Energy ...

'', 37 (2009) 3295–3296.

Award

''The Dirty Energy Dilemma'' won a 2009 Nautilus Silver Award for Best Book in the "Ecology/Environment/Sustainability/Green Values" category. Curriculum Vitae: Dr. Benjamin K. Sovacool

Synopsis

Award

See also

References

Further reading