Decarbonizing the Electric Utility Industry

Scientists assert that global warming must be kept below 2 degrees Celsius to avoid insurmountable global disruption. Getting there will require near total decarbonization of economic activity by 2060. Electricity generation accounts for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. and worldwide. Electric grids around the world are being decarbonized, but a complete shift to 100 percent clean energy will likely take longer than 40 years. What will facilitate the transition and what threatens progress?

Let's begin by reviewing four zero-carbon emission generation sources and technologies that could lead us into the clean energy future: hydropower, nuclear energy, wind and solar. We'll then discuss the levers and opportunities for solar and wind adoption with Devin Welch, Sun Tribe Solar; Erik Haug, Apex Clean Energy; and Darden Professor Mike Lenox, who is co-author on the report titled Path to 2060: Decarbonizing the Electric Utility Industry.

This is the second in a series of podcasts on decarbonization. Please also see Decarbonizing the Automobile Industry and Decarbonizing the Industrial Manufacturing Sector.

This podcast is hosted by Rebecca Duff, senior research associate for the Business Innovation and Climate Change Initiative at Darden’s Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.

Soundbites used by permission by Sun Tribe Solar and Apex Clean Energy.

About the Expert

Michael Lenox

Special Adviser for the Dean; Tayloe Murphy Professor of Business Administration

Lenox’s expertise is in the domain of technology strategy and policy. He studies the role of innovation in helping a business succeed. In particular, he explores the sourcing of external knowledge by firms and this practice’s impact on a company’s innovation strategy. Lenox has a longstanding interest in the interface between business strategy and public policy as it relates to the natural environment; his work explores firm strategies and nontraditional public policies that have the potential to drive green innovation and entrepreneurship.

In 2013, Lenox co-authored The Strategist’s Toolkit with Darden Professor Jared Harris. His latest book,

Lenox is a prolific author; his most recent book, Strategy in the Digital Age: Mastering Digital Transformation, examines how digital technologies and services enable the creation of innovative products and services, as well as identifying new competitive positions.

B.S., M.S., University of Virginia; Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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