Preface Introduction Chapter OneThe Big Four Energy Challenges Chapter TwoThe Big Four Clean Solutions Chapter ThreeFinancial and Market Impediments Chapter FourPolitical and Regulatory Obstacles Chapter FiveCultural and Behavioral Barriers Chapter SixAesthetic and Environmental Challenges Chapter SevenThe Big Four Policy Mechanisms Chapter EightConclusions

Conventional energy sources are low-cost but dirty, finite, and prone to price volatility, while clean energy is sustainable and reduces air pollution and emissions of greenhouse gases. However, clean energy is more expensive, demands difficult changes from both consumers and suppliers, and results in environmental disruption, so how do we embark on a cleaner, more sustainable energy path? Sovacool (Energy Governance Program, National Univ. of Singapore) solves this 'energy dilemma' by dismissing it. He argues that the negative aspects of clean energy are best ignored, even if doing so requires a federal mandate compelling utilities to purchase more expensive clean energy and forces energy consumers to pay a 'benefit charge' to finance their own reeducation by funding programs that promise to reduce consumers' aesthetic and environmental objections to clean power.

"An extensively researched, highly accessible, authoritative explanation of the challenges facing the American electric utility sector. The Dirty Energy Dilemma will stimulate debate about its content, and offers inspiration for those who seek to promote more progressive energy policy."

"An extensively researched, highly accessible, authoritative explanation of the challenges facing the American electric utility sector. The Dirty Energy Dilemma will stimulate debate about its content, and offers inspiration for those who seek to promote more progressive energy policy." -- Dr. Art Rosenfeld, Commissioner, California Energy Commission, Recipient of the 2006 Enrico Fermi Award "This is a bold, provocative, and brilliant work that examines why wind, solar, and other clean power technologies have not penetrated the American electricity market, but it also provides a much-needed blueprint for how they could." -- Dr. Hermann Scheer, Member of the German Bundestag, President of the European Association for Renewable Energy,^LGeneral Chairman of the World Council for Renewable Energy, and the Recipient of the 1999 Right Livelihood Award. "The U.S. wastes more energy from the inefficient production of electricity each year than Japan harnesses for its entire economy. This is just one of the many remarkable revelations in this volume. New energy policies are a global priority. The world desperately needs thinking in this area. This brilliant volume by Benjamin Sovacool will provide new insights and stimulate new debates. Its appearance could not be timelier. It should be read carefully by all, from academics to policymakers, from businessmen to journalists." -- Kishore Mahbubani, Dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, Former Ambassador to the United Nations, Author of The New Asian Hemisphere "This is a book the president and his staff should read. They should give copies to every member of the House and Senate if they're to intelligently vote on energy policy. Insightful, clear, and forceful, Sovacool explains how America's renewable energy policy has been hijacked for 30 years and what we need to do to reclaim it for a safer, cleaner, and more secure country." -- Paul Gipe, Renewable energy advocate, Author of Wind Energy Comes of Age "In this timely work, Benjamin Sovacool explains both the alternative energy possibilities now available and the political, economic, and social impediments that the United States must overcome to create a clean energy society." -- Dr. David E. Nye, Professor of American Studies at the University of Southern Denmark, Author of Consuming Power: A Social History of American Energies "The Dirty Energy Dilemma offers a new insight into America's energy issues. Sovacool takes us past the oft-visited and necessary, but insufficient, questions of hardware and finance and into new terrain. By viewing the electric utility industry as a set of human interests and perceptions, Sovacool adds a vital element: cultural analysis. With a blend of sensitivity and bluntness, recognizing that we have met the enemy and they are us, Sovacool outlines the perceptions--the paradigms--that have tied our minds to old and dirty energy choices. Shining a light on the ways that we have limited our thinking, he opens the chance for us, together, to go beyond our past and into a future that we consciously make far, far, better. We all--as analysts, as technologists, as economists, or as humans--owe Sovacool a thanks for showing us the limits of our thoughts, so we can transcend them in our future." -- Michael Dworkin, Professor of Law & Director, Institute for Energy and the Environment, Vermont Law School