IPL Business Intelligence Blog By
Paul Wakefield, Blog Writer and Principal Designer at IPL
“Ours is a UK blog…but the issues are the same on either side of the pond, and we can learn much from the US experience. The thoroughness and authority of the book stand out, and as both a popular policy and business strategy book, Smart Power is a compelling read for a wide range of audiences.”
“Penner gives very detailed future scenarios including electricity scenarios and detailed charts detailing large scale power generating technologies including costs associated with each technology relating to carbon emissions, I believe it could become a very valuable resource for high-level utility executives.”
“For energy industry professionals, industry-watchers, policy makers, environmentalists, and students in these fields, this clear, well-researched presentation should be required reading.”
Energy Metro Desk Book Review By
Arthur Jones, Energy Metro Desk Contributor
“Fox-Penner, principal and chairman emeritus of the consulting firm, The Brattle Group, straightforwardly provides a “New Paradigm” for the industry: customer control systems, smaller local generators and greater levels of storage. The New Paradigm is “a system that previously flowed power only from large central sources to downstream customers” that will now flow in both directions from locally based generation and storage. (He is consistently current. In July, the New York Times explored wind power’s crying need to store what it generates, making Fox-Penner an author on top of his topic.)”
~ Download full review Reprinted with permission of the publisher. Copyright 2010. Scudder Publishing Group, LLC. www.energymetrodesk.com.
“Zen and the Art of Smart Grid Development” By Zen Kishimoto, Principal Analyst at Alta Terra
“I always wanted to read a book that provides a comprehensive view of the
present and the future power industry with their new challenges. I think I finally have found it. Fox-Penner’s
book is so well organized that those who are not familiar with the power industry can understand where it was, where
it is now, and where it is going. This naturally leads to the discussion of smart grid and how it relates to the new
challenges in the power industry. The author’s description and opinions are very convincing, and his view
serves as a good guide to the future of the power industry, not only in the U.S. but also in the world.”
“Power industry, it's time for your makeover” By Jennifer Weeks, SEJournal
“The Energy Services utility is a very different kind of company: it works to deliver lowest-cost energy services to customers, which can mean helping them buy less power…. Smart Power makes clear how hard that transition will be, but also how it could pay off.”
“The Smart Grid: Shop 'til You Drop” By Dan Coffey, The San Diego Daily Transcript Columnist and Attorney
“... This must-read, 326-page book on energy policy authored by highly accomplished engineer and economist Dr. Peter Fox-Penner is a wake-up call … The breadth of interrelated topics will give every reader profound food for thought, especially in light of the recently introduced Senate "Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act" (S 1733).”
The Energy Law Journal By William Mogel, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus, Energy Law Journal
“In sum, Smart Power is a provocative and balanced thought piece that dissects the existing structure of the power industry to propose a new order. The future, according to Fox-Penner, is not control systems and generating technologies but in ― provisioning the industry for change. Whether Fox-Penner’s vision will or should become reality is more difficult to judge than the obvious merits of Smart Power.”
The American Antitrust Institute (AAI) By Diana Moss, Vice President of AAI
“... Smart Power leaves us feeling better organized and educated on a very complex topic that the industry has likely only begun grappling with. It is a timely volume since it gives consumers, analysts, and policymakers important stepping stools for getting on the train that is leaving the station. That Fox-Penner takes on the job of lending structure and clarity to perhaps the most daunting challenge ever to face the electricity industry speaks volumes. But it is his sense of optimism and confidence that we will succeed which makes the book a home-run ...”
The Optimization Blog: Views and News about Electric Power Industry Asset Optimization By Peter Spinney, Vice President and Director of NeuCo, Inc.
“… I found the book not only enjoyable, but a thoroughly thought-provoking read. Even the "primer" parts served as a useful refresher, as I’ve been more focused on fossil-generation for the last 12 years. I particularly like the coherence of the scenarios and reconciling the two current business/structural models now co-existing with the notions of ‘Smart Integrator’ vs. ‘Energy Services Utility.’...”
“Utilities see two paths to profits on the ‘smart grid’” By Jennifer Weeks, The Daily Climate
“… Energy consultant Peter Fox-Penner sees two contrasting business models for the utility of the future - one focused on selling power, the other on selling high-value ‘energy services.’ In what he calls the ‘smart integrator’ model, utilities concentrate on operating the power grid and delivering electricity reliably to customers...”
