Renewable Energy

Bruce Usher is a Professor of Practice and the Elizabeth B. Strickler '86 and Mark T. Gallogly '86 Faculty Director of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at Columbia Business School. Professor Usher teaches on the intersection of finance, social and environmental issues, and is a recipient of the Singhvi Prize for Scholarship in the Classroom and the Dean’s Award for Teaching Excellence. Prior to his work at Columbia, Professor Usher was CEO of EcoSecurities Group plc, which developed greenhouse gas emission reduction projects in developing countries.Bruce Usher is professor of professional practice and the Elizabeth B. Strickler ’86 and Mark T. Gallogly ’86 Faculty Director of the Tamer Center for Social Enterprise at the Columbia Business School, where he teaches on the intersection of financial, social, and environmental issues. He was previously an entrepreneur and worked in financial services in New York and Tokyo.

David Kirkpatrick, managing director and cofounder, SJF Ventures:
Usher provides a clear and well documented description of the energy transition accessible both to the lay person but also of interest to energy professors and enthusiasts alike. This book ties together the convergence of low cost solar and wind with energy storage with electric vehicles in a clear and concise manner.

Alex Halliday, Director of the Earth Institute, Columbia University:
Climate change is arguably the greatest challenge of our times and the move towards renewable energy provides part of the solution. This easily readable book provides a straightforward account of the issues and opportunities of this great transition, framed in the context of historical precedents, economic and environmental drivers, and future horizons. Usher explains the financial factors and focuses on intermittency of wind and solar power as the greatest barrier, but one for which there may be exciting and innovative solutions.

Charles Donovan, director of the Centre for Climate Science and Investment, Imperial College Business School:
Usher explains in clear and intelligible language the primary technical and economic characteristics of renewable energy. The book documents the rapid rise of renewables within the history of modern energy, providing a thoughtful and balanced point of view that makes this book stand out from more advocacy-focused works.

Glenn Hubbard, Dean and Russell L. Carson Professor of Finance and Economics, Columbia Business School, and former chairman of the U.S. Council of Economic Advisers.:
Bruce Usher brings the important and under-explained rise of renewable energy out of his business school classroom to a captivating read for business and policy audiences. Part history, part forecasting, this important book sets out the winners and losers—individuals, businesses, and nations—in the dynamic energy transition underway.

Richard L. Kauffman, Chairman of Energy and Finance for New York:
Policy makers, utilities, investors, and incumbent industries would be well served to read Bruce Usher’s Renewable Energy. Buttressed by history and fact, Usher makes the compelling case that the transition to renewable energy is underway. Government policy can slow or accelerate the transition but transition is inexorable. There will be lots of winners on the transition, but woe to the losers.

Michael E. Mann, Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science, Penn State University, and coauthor of The Madhouse Effect: How Climate Change Denial is Threatening Our Planet, Destroying Our Politics, and Driving Us Crazy:
There’s a lot of talk about renewable energy these days. But few really understand it—the basic science, the limits, and the great promise it holds. Read Bruce Usher’s Renewable Energy: A Primer for the Twenty-First Century to better understand the great technological and economic revolution of this century.