Renewable and Efficient Electric Power Systems

Join the energy revolution―this comprehensive resource offers quantitative and practical approaches for designing a sustainable, 21st-century electricity system, covering renewable generation technologies, conventional power plants, energy efficiency, storage, and microgrids.

Renewable and Efficient Electric Power Systems dives into the fundamentals of modern electricity systems, introducing key technologies, economic and environmental impacts, and practical considerations for energy and climate professionals. The book explains the science and engineering underlying renewable energy―including solar, wind, and hydropower―along with an expanded set of key energy technologies such as fuel cells, batteries, and hydrogen. This updated edition prepares readers to participate in the world’s ongoing efforts to decarbonize the electricity sector and move toward a more sustainable future.

The book covers foundational knowledge of electric power, up through current developments and future prospects for renewable energy. The update significantly expands core content to address topics such as energy efficiency, smart grids, energy storage, and microgrids. It reframes energy as an integral factor in urban development and highlights forward-looking strategies to decarbonize the built environment. The text draws on a multi-scalar approach that ranges from utility-scale to building-scale to assess energy systems, and further considers centralized vs. distributed system architecture. The authors integrate perspectives from engineering professionals across different sectors, incorporating relevant insights from applied projects, with an eye toward implementing energy systems in the real world. Given the textbook’s broad reach, this edition situates energy development in an international context and provides examples relevant to a global audience.

• An essential resource for engineers and other practitioners working in climate and energy, offering cutting-edge frameworks and quantitative approaches to energy system design.
• Early chapters develop the skills and knowledge necessary for students and professionals entering the clean energy field. Later chapters offer an excellent bridge to prepare advanced students for further study in power engineering, or who intend to pursue policy or economic analysis.
• Step-by-step explanations of quantitative analysis are supplemented with additional practice problems to encourage self-instruction or complement classroom use.
• Accessible explanations provide planners and policymakers with fundamental technical understanding of energy systems.
• Combines pure technical analysis with economic and environmental considerations, and explores the link between energy, carbon, and new digital technologies, to provide a more comprehensive approach to energy education.

As the world undergoes a transformation in energy and electricity, Renewable and Efficient Electric Power Systems is an indispensable text for students of energy, environment, and climate, as well as for practitioners seeking to refresh their understanding of renewable energy systems.

Gilbert M. Masters received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University. He is Professor Emeritus in the Atmosphere/Energy Program, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford, where he has taught courses for over three decades on energy and the environment.

Kevin F. Hsu is a AAAS Science & Technology Policy Fellow, with international experience in energy and climate planning. He researches infrastructure and climate resilience at MIT, and has taught sustainability and design classes at Stanford University.