Summary of Peter Kelly-Detwiler's The Energy Switch

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 In 2019, I visited the Brayton Point coal-fired power plant in Fall River, Massachusetts. The plant had generated 20 percent of Massachusetts’ electricity supply, supported hundreds of well-paying jobs, and provided $4 million in annual tax revenues to the town of Somerset.

#2 The collapse of the towers was extremely dramatic. It took only five seconds for both towers to collapse, and a huge dust plume blew across the bay.

#3 The death of Brayton Point coal power plant illustrates the changing nature of the energy industry. While gas plants are not carbon-free, they do help push coal plants out of the market.

#4 The biggest global challenge of our day is to slow down and limit the change in the climate so we can live within a habitable climate. As a significant contributor of carbon emissions, our energy systems will have to rapidly evolve to meet this challenge.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822512856

IRB Media

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Insights on Peter Kelly-Detwiler's The Energy Switch

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 14

Insights from Chapter 15

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

In 2019, I visited the Brayton Point coal-fired power plant in Fall River, Massachusetts. The plant had generated 20 percent of Massachusetts’ electricity supply, supported hundreds of well-paying jobs, and provided $4 million in annual tax revenues to the town of Somerset.

#2

The collapse of the towers was extremely dramatic. It took only five seconds for both towers to collapse, and a huge dust plume blew across the bay.

#3

The death of Brayton Point coal power plant illustrates the changing nature of the energy industry. While gas plants are not carbon-free, they do help push coal plants out of the market.

#4

The biggest global challenge of our day is to slow down and limit the change in the climate so we can live within a habitable climate. As a significant contributor of carbon emissions, our energy systems will have to rapidly evolve to meet this challenge.

#5

I wanted to see if I could understand the breadth of this massive shift and tell its story. I wanted to know more about what was likely to occur, and see if I could understand the implications.

#6

It has already become clear that a transition to a cleaner energy future is inevitable. The issue is not whether this transition will take place, but how quickly society can prepare for it and minimize the amount of future economic loss and human suffering.

#7

Average citizens are becoming involved in the conversation about electricity, and they are beginning to evaluate other options. The way we produce and consume power will be cleaner, cheaper, and infinitely more complex in the decades to come.

#8

The energy industry is changing at a rapid pace, and it is both exhilarating and unsettling. While many countries have committed to meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement, our political landscape is just beginning to recognize these trends.

#9

The climate change news is bleak. The planet is on fire, and there’s not much time left to cut emissions significantly enough to limit the temperature increase to 1. 5 degrees C and maintain a habitable planet.

#10

The electric power grid is the largest and most complex machine ever constructed by mankind. It is an effort to connect the dots and highlight the steps that are being taken by companies and customers that will forever change the face of the electric power grid.

Insights from Chapter 2

#1

To understand