The paralysis in energy decision making : European energy policy in crisis

A comprehensive multi-disciplinary survey of decision making in the energy field, especially electricity in the UK and western Europe. Abstract: A comprehensive multi-disciplinary survey of decision making in the energy field, especially electricity in the UK and western Europe Contents 6 1 Introduction - the fatal sclerosis in energy decision-making 8 2 Fossil fuels 19 3 Nuclear energy 54 4 Renewables 120 5 Energy efficiency 170 6 Energiewende 182 7 Japan - a worked example of medium term power capacity shortage 206 8 The liberalisation of power markets and its effect on investment 234 9 Climate Change 281 10 Politics and energy: the tripartite relationship among the technical, political and public realms in the age of inertia 322 11 Public perceptions and the strange case of radiation 385 12 Conclusions - unblock the arteries or wait for thrombosis? 444 Index 464 A comprehensive multi-disciplinary survey of decision-making in the energy field, incorporating the cost of energy. Explores the reasons for the paralysis in decision-making, contrasting it with past periods of rapid change and growth such as the deployment of nuclear power in the 1970s and '80s.