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Environmental Books » Renewable Energy

Most Recommended Books

Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air by David J C MacKay

“What the late David MacKay did was give us a rigorous understanding of the way that we use and generate energy.”

Chris Goodall, Environmentalist

Read more

Browse book recommendations:

Environmental Books

  • Climate Change Books
  • Environmental Ethics
  • New Climate Books
  • Renewable Energy

Delivering renewable energy in volumes and prices that can begin to reduce our dependence on carbon fuels is one of the central challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. In our interviews on the subject, academics, business people and politicians choose their top books on renewable energy to illustrate the global energy challenge and how we might meet it in the coming years.

Chris Goodall, author and expert on renewable energy technologies, chooses his best books on energy transitions. He discusses the need to develop cheap and clean energy, given the apparent reluctance or inability of humanity to reduce its energy consumption. These books look at the problems of storing solar energy and the possibility of mitigating some of the effects of global warming through geo-engineering, trying to manage the sun’s radiation through putting a ‘chemical blanket’ into space to protect the earth’s surface.

Jerry McNerney—US congressman, energy expert and engineer—discusses the twin energy crisis and clean energy. He explains how he got involved in the development of renewable energy in the 1970s long before he moved into politics, and discusses the problems of moving from an oil-driven economy. He points out that even without the environmental threat, there are strong reasons to develop renewables rather than allow a global competition for ever-depleting carbon resources. Juliet Davenport, CEO of Good Energy (the UK’s on 100% renewable energy supplier), chooses her best books on renewable energy and argues that the UK can transition to 100% renewable use. Last, author and journalist Bob Johnstone chooses his best books on solar power.

    The best books on Energy Transitions, recommended by Chris Goodall

  • Read
    The best books on Energy Transitions - Energy and Civilization: a History by Vaclav Smil

    1

    Energy and Civilization: a History
    by Vaclav Smil

  • Read
    The best books on Energy Transitions - The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power by Daniel Yergin

    2

    The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power
    by Daniel Yergin

  • Read
    The best books on Energy Transitions - Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air by David J C MacKay

    3

    Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air
    by David J C MacKay

  • Read
    The best books on Energy Transitions - Solar Revolution: The Economic Transformation of the Global Energy Industry by Travis Bradford

    4

    Solar Revolution: The Economic Transformation of the Global Energy Industry
    by Travis Bradford

  • Read
    The best books on Energy Transitions - The Planet Remade by Oliver Morton

    5

    The Planet Remade
    by Oliver Morton

  • The best books on Energy Transitions - Energy and Civilization: a History by Vaclav Smil
  • The best books on Energy Transitions - The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power by Daniel Yergin
  • The best books on Energy Transitions - Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air by David J C MacKay
  • The best books on Energy Transitions - Solar Revolution: The Economic Transformation of the Global Energy Industry by Travis Bradford
  • The best books on Energy Transitions - The Planet Remade by Oliver Morton

The best books on Energy Transitions, recommended by Chris Goodall

The switch to sources of energy other than oil and gas is now well under way, but how long will it be before we can rely on them for the bulk of the world’s power—if ever? Renewable energy expert Chris Goodall gives us a thought-provoking reading list to think about both past and future ‘energy transitions.’

The best books on Energy Transitions, recommended by Chris Goodall

    The best books on Clean Energy, recommended by Jerry McNerney

  • Read
    The best books on Clean Energy - The Limits to Growth by Dennis L. Meadows, Donella H Meadows & Jorgen Randers

    1

    The Limits to Growth
    by Dennis L. Meadows, Donella H Meadows & Jorgen Randers

  • Read
    The best books on Clean Energy - Hubbert’s Peak by Kenneth S Deffeyes

    2

    Hubbert’s Peak
    by Kenneth S Deffeyes

  • Read
    The best books on Clean Energy - Winning the Oil Endgame by Amory B Lovins, E Kyle Datta, Jonathan G Koomey and Nathan J Glasgow & Odd-Even Bustnes

    3

    Winning the Oil Endgame
    by Amory B Lovins, E Kyle Datta, Jonathan G Koomey and Nathan J Glasgow & Odd-Even Bustnes

  • Read
    The best books on Clean Energy - Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by Michael Braungart and William McDonough

    4

    Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
    by Michael Braungart and William McDonough

  • Read
    The best books on Clean Energy - Wind Power by Paul Gipe

    5

    Wind Power
    by Paul Gipe

  • The best books on Clean Energy - The Limits to Growth by Dennis L. Meadows, Donella H Meadows & Jorgen Randers
  • The best books on Clean Energy - Hubbert’s Peak by Kenneth S Deffeyes
  • The best books on Clean Energy - Winning the Oil Endgame by Amory B Lovins, E Kyle Datta, Jonathan G Koomey and Nathan J Glasgow & Odd-Even Bustnes
  • The best books on Clean Energy - Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by Michael Braungart and William McDonough
  • The best books on Clean Energy - Wind Power by Paul Gipe

The best books on Clean Energy, recommended by Jerry McNerney

We’re in a “dual energy crisis”, says the author of Clean Energy Nation, and not doing enough about it. He tells us what we must do if we’re to overcome our dependence on oil and limit the damaging effects of climate change

The best books on Clean Energy, recommended by Jerry McNerney

    The best books on Renewable Energy, recommended by Juliet Davenport

  • Read
    The best books on Renewable Energy - Solar by Ian McEwan

    1

    Solar
    by Ian McEwan

  • Read
    The best books on Renewable Energy - The Corporation by Joel Bakan

    2

    The Corporation
    by Joel Bakan

  • Read
    The best books on Renewable Energy - Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air by David J C MacKay

    3

    Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air
    by David J C MacKay

  • Read
    The best books on Renewable Energy - Too Big to Fail by Andrew Sorkin

    4

    Too Big to Fail
    by Andrew Sorkin

  • Read
    The best books on Renewable Energy - The Hemlock Cup by Bettany Hughes

    5

    The Hemlock Cup
    by Bettany Hughes

  • The best books on Renewable Energy - Solar by Ian McEwan
  • The best books on Renewable Energy - The Corporation by Joel Bakan
  • The best books on Renewable Energy - Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air by David J C MacKay
  • The best books on Renewable Energy - Too Big to Fail by Andrew Sorkin
  • The best books on Renewable Energy - The Hemlock Cup by Bettany Hughes

The best books on Renewable Energy, recommended by Juliet Davenport

The chief executive of Good Energy says we need to think big if we want to cut our use of high-carbon energy. She tells us about the intersection between business, politics and doing the right thing

The best books on Renewable Energy, recommended by Juliet Davenport

    The best books on Solar Power, recommended by Bob Johnstone

  • Read
    The best books on Solar Power - From Space to Earth by John Perlin

    1

    From Space to Earth
    by John Perlin

  • Read
    The best books on Solar Power - The Grid by Philip Schewe

    2

    The Grid
    by Philip Schewe

  • Read
    The best books on Solar Power - Winning Our Energy Independence by David Freeman

    3

    Winning Our Energy Independence
    by David Freeman

  • Read
    The best books on Solar Power - The Solar Economy by Hermann Scheer

    4

    The Solar Economy
    by Hermann Scheer

  • Read
    The best books on Solar Power - Earth by Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn

    5

    Earth
    by Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn

  • The best books on Solar Power - From Space to Earth by John Perlin
  • The best books on Solar Power - The Grid by Philip Schewe
  • The best books on Solar Power - Winning Our Energy Independence by David Freeman
  • The best books on Solar Power - The Solar Economy by Hermann Scheer
  • The best books on Solar Power - Earth by Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn

The best books on Solar Power, recommended by Bob Johnstone

Former Wired contributing editor and MIT Science Journalism Fellow, Bob Johnstone, explains why the Germans lead the world in solar energy and how financial innovation is changing the game in the US. He picks the best books on solar power.

The best books on Solar Power, recommended by Bob Johnstone

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand seven hundred interviews, or eight thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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