The Power Surge is a discussion of the current state of energy, policy and paths we should think about for the future. It predominantly focuses on the US but has aspects of global energy policy as much energy policy is dependent on global coordination. The book is split into 8 chapters, each concise and straightforward to read.
The book starts with discussing aspects of the shale gas industry and then goes into an overview of the energy industry including paths for oil and gas consumption as well as the space of alternative energy. He discusses the divide in approach across the nation for those focusing on fossil vs those focusing on green energy. The author then reminds the reader that this is not the first time this debate arose and it started with the oil shocks of the 70s. The book moves on to focusing on shale gas and the issues concerning community and economy, it discusses some of the political aspects of energy and includes the Russian political move of shutting down natural gas pipelines in 2009 and the reminder of the importance of energy policy and dependency. It discusses the technological limitations of natural gas for running automotive fleets as well. One gets a sense of the pros and cons of shale gas as well as a framework to think about how to balance differing interests. The book moves on to energy independence and starts historically by discussing the oil shocks in the 70s and how energy independence was first focused on then. It discusses all the forms of oil available- in Alaska, offshore and in the oil sands. It gives estimates of how much each of these could add to yearly output. It also discusses economics and how the supply and demand side of oil can function, the impacts of cartels and the breakdown in oligopoly pricing in declining pricing environments. It also discusses the flawed thinking of sufficiency in open markets with elastic supply sides abroad. The book moves on to discussing climate change and various thoughts about the risks of global warming and the greenhouse gas concentrations that are currently considered dangerous thresholds. It discusses the uncertainty in all of these estimates. The author then focuses on the changing nature of the auto industry. It uses BYD to discuss the difficulty in electric cars but discusses how fuel efficiency standards have been instrumental in reducing oil dependency. Price has been a large driver of this and the author again uses basic economic logic to discuss how higher oil prices change the duration of usage needed to legitimize from a pure price perspective the benefit of using more fuel efficient cars. It goes through the history of alternative energy and hybrid cars. It discusses how infrastructure or lack thereof for alternatives is a reason for difficulty in scalability. The author then discusses alternative energy sources like wind and solar and some of the limitations and benefits. Not having storage for dealing with the cyclicality of the energy source is a big detriment. The subsidies for some energy sources create perverse incentives to sell electricity below 0 as the net profit is still positive post the subsidy. The author then discusses some geopolitics focusing on the strategic importance of the energy industry and the tail event probability of aggressive action escalation. It is just an overall warning of the nature of energy politics. The author ends with policy thoughts on how to balance all of the diverse options policy makers have and the way to balance and diversify.
The Power Surge is a good overview of energy as an industry, the economics as well as the politics of it. It is fairly simple in its arguments and very easy to digest. I think it states clearly what issues are to be considered and many of the view points surrounding the issues. My only criticism is some of the discussion is very base level and overly discusses the iterative natures of lower prices motivating demand which raises prices which motivates supply etc... The first time such an argument is discussed i guess it can be helpful but thereafter the mechanics don't need to be repeated. But all in all despite the repetition of certain economic ideas the book is helpful as an overview of what policy makers should think about when considering energy policy, which is among the most important for our modern day political economy.
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Top reviews from other countries
Liam Kelleher
A fantastic collation of information....if not entirely groundbreaking
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 25, 2015
