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  • Taming the Sun

  • Innovations to Harness Solar Energy and Power the Planet
  • Written by: Varun Sivaram
  • Narrated by: Barry Abrams
  • Length: 11 hrs and 10 mins
  • 4.2 out of 5 stars (5 ratings)

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Taming the Sun

Written by: Varun Sivaram
Narrated by: Barry Abrams
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Publisher's Summary

Solar energy, once a niche application for a limited market, has become the cheapest and fastest-growing power source on earth. What's more, its potential is nearly limitless. But in Taming the Sun, energy expert Varun Sivaram warns that the world is not yet equipped to harness erratic sunshine to meet most of its energy needs. And if solar's current surge peters out, prospects for replacing fossil fuels and averting catastrophic climate change will dim.

Innovation can brighten those prospects, Sivaram explains. Financial innovation is already enticing deep-pocketed investors to fund solar projects around the world. Technological innovation could replace today's solar panels with coatings as cheap as paint and employ artificial photosynthesis to store intermittent sunshine as convenient fuels. And systemic innovation could add flexibility to the world's power grids and other energy systems, so they can dependably channel the sun's unreliable energy.

Unleashing all this innovation will require visionary public policy: funding researchers developing next-generation solar technologies, refashioning energy systems and economic markets, and putting together a diverse clean energy portfolio. Although solar can't power the planet by itself, it can be the centerpiece of a global clean energy revolution.

©2018 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (P)2018 Tantor

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A fascinating look at the solar power industry from start to finish

Varun paints a vivid picture of the solar industry from beginning to end. He discusses the technologies available and what’s on the horizon. He also exposes the complex politics surrounding the industry.

A most interesting read

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