Digital Decarbonization: Promoting Digital Innovations to Advance Clean Energy Systems

by Varun Sivaram

A digital revolution is sweeping the global energy sector. As energy industries produce ever more data, firms are harnessing greater computing power, advances in data science, and increased digital connectivity to exploit that data. These trends have the potential to transform the way energy is produced, transported, and consumed. An important potential benefit of this digital transformation of energy is a reduction in global emissions of greenhouse gases that cause climate change; the elimination of such emissions from the global economy is known as decarbonization. By enabling clean energy systems that rely on low-carbon energy sources and are highly efficient in using energy, digital innovations in the energy sector can speed decarbonization. Yet they are not guaranteed to do so. In fact, digital innovations could well increase global greenhouse emissions, for example, by making it easier to extract fossil fuels. To determine the potential for digital technologies to speed a clean energy transition and to make recommendations to promote this outcome, the Council on Foreign Relations convened a workshop in New York, on February 22 and 23, 2018. Participants laid out a wide range of areas in which digital technologies are already enabling clean energy systems and could achieve much more; they also cautioned about serious risks that will attend the digitalization of energy and need to be managed; and they articulated actionable recommendations for policymakers in the United States and abroad to ensure that digital innovations bring societal benefits and, in particular, speed decarbonization. Digital Decarbonization summarizes the insights from this workshop and includes contributions from fourteen expert authors delving into these topics. Contents Varun Introduction Stephen D. Trends in Early-Stage Financing for Clean Energy Innovation David G. An Equal Opportunity Wave of Energy Innovation Lidija A Survey of Digital Innovations for a Decentralized and Transactive Electric Power System Ben How Distribution Energy Markets Could Enable a Lean and Reliable Power System Peter The Implications of Vehicle Electrification and Autonomy for Global Decarbonization Rohit T. Autonomous Vehicles and Expectations, Uncertainties, and Policy Choices Kyle How Data Science Can Enable the Evolution of Energy Systems Sunil Applying Data Science to Promote Renewable Energy Erfan Managing the Cybersecurity Risks of an Increasingly Digital Power System Jesse Managing the Economic and Privacy Risks Arising From Digital Innovations in Energy Richard Kauffman and John O’ How State-Level Regulatory Reform Can Enable the Digital Grid of the Future Hiang Kwee Lessons from Singapore’s Approach to Developing Clean and Digital Energy Systems

144 pages, Paperback

Published June 8, 2018

About the author

Dr. Varun Sivaram is a physicist, bestselling author, and clean energy technology expert with experience spanning the corporate, policy, and academic sectors—most recently as Chief Technology Officer of ReNew Power Limited, a multi-billion dollar renewable-energy firm that is India's largest. He is currently a visiting senior fellow at the Columbia University Center for Global Energy Policy and was formerly fellow & director of the energy program at the Council on Foreign Relations, senior energy advisor to the Los Angeles Mayor and New York Governor, professor at Georgetown University, and consultant at McKinsey & Co. TIME Magazine named him to its TIME 100 Next list of the next hundred most influential people in the world. His books include "Taming the Sun: Innovations to Harness Solar Energy and Power the Planet," "Energizing America: A Roadmap to Launch a National Energy Innovation Mission," and "Digital Decarbonization: Promoting Digital Innovations to Advance Clean Energy Systems." A Rhodes and Truman Scholar, he holds a Ph.D. in condensed matter physics from Oxford University and undergraduate degrees from Stanford University