Climate scientists have found that we need to achieve 80% absolute reductions in greenhouse gas emissions globally to stabilize the climate. An essential element of that transition is moving rapidly away from the use of coal, oil and natural gas to generate electricity. Questions we will explore in this course include:

• Are renewables plentiful, affordable, and technologically advanced enough to take the place of fossil fuels in global electricity production?

• What parts of the world have made the most progress in that transition already, which parts still have the furthest to go, and why?

• Which government policies and market strategies will be needed to accelerate the transition, and what will they cost?

• Will solar and wind technology get us there, or are other technologies showing more promise?

• Is it better to do renewables on a massive, centralized basis through utilities, or to implement them in a decentralized way on individual homes and buildings?

• How important is energy storage to making the renewable electricity transition happen?