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| Benjamin K. Sovacool |
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Assistant Professor
PhD in Science and Technology Studies, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy National University of Singapore 469C Bukit Timah Road Singapore 259772
DID: (65) 6516 7501
Fax: (65) 6468 4186
Email:
BenjaminSovacool - CV.pdf | |
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| Profile: |
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Dr. Benjamin K. Sovacool is an Assistant Professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore. He is also a Research Fellow in the Energy Governance Program at the Centre on Asia and Globalization. Dr. Sovacool has worked as a researcher, professor, and consultant on issues pertaining to energy policy, the environment, and science and technology policy. He has served in advisory and research capacities at the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Electric Power Networks Efficiency and Security Program, Virginia Tech Consortium on Energy Restructuring, Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Semiconductor Materials and Equipment International, U.S. Department of Energy’s Climate Change Technology Program, and the International Institute for Applied Systems and Analysis near Vienna, Austria. Dr. Sovacool has published more than 80 academic articles and presented at more than 30 international conferences and symposia. He is the co-editor with Marilyn A. Brown of Energy and American Society: Thirteen Myths (Springer, 2007) and the author or co-author of The Dirty Energy Dilemma: What’s Blocking Clean Power in the United States (Praeger, 2008), Powering the Green Economy: The Feed-In Tariff Handbook (2009, Earthscan), and Climate Change and Energy Security: A Global Overview of Technology and Policy Options (MIT Press, forthcoming 2010). He is also a frequent contributor to such journals as Electricity Journal and Energy Policy. |
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| Recent Academic Publications: |
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Books
- Powering the Green Economy: The Feed-In Tariff Handbook, with Miguel Mendonça and David Jacobs (London: Earthscan, 2009), xxxi + 197 pp., available at http://www.earthscan.co.uk/?tabid=92821&v=193
- The Dirty Energy Dilemma: What’s Blocking Clean Power in the United States (Westport, CT: Praeger, 2008), xvii + 294 pp, available at http://www.greenwood.com/catalog/C35540.aspx
[Reviews: 1 | 2 | 3 ]
- Energy and American Society: Thirteen Myths (Edited with Marilyn A. Brown) (New York: Springer, 2007), xi + 340 pp, available at http://www.springer.com/environment/book/978-1-4020-5563-8?detailsPage=reviews
[Reviews: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 ]
Articles
- “Reassessing Energy Security and the Trans-ASEAN Natural Gas Pipeline Network in Southeast Asia,” Pacific Affairs 82(3) (Fall, 2009), pp. 467-486.

- “Exploring and Contextualizing Public Opposition to Renewable Electricity in the United States,” Sustainability 1(3) (September, 2009), pp. 702-721.

- “The Intermittency of Wind, Solar, and Renewable Electricity Generators: Technical Barrier or Rhetorical Excuse?” Utilities Policy 17(3) (September, 2009), pp. 288-296.

- “Identifying Future Electricity Water Tradeoffs in the United States,” with Kelly E. Sovacool, Energy Policy 37(7) (July, 2009), pp. 2763-2773.

- “Contextualizing Avian Mortality: A Preliminary Appraisal of Bird and Bat Fatalities from Wind, Fossil-Fuel, and Nuclear Electricity,” Energy Policy 37(6) (June, 2009), pp. 2241-2248.

- “Energy Policy and Cooperation in Southeast Asia: The History, Challenges, and Implications of the Trans-ASEAN Gas Pipeline Network (TAGP),” Energy Policy 37(6) (June, 2009), pp. 2356-2367.

- “Running on Empty: The Electricity-Water Nexus and the U.S. Electric Utility Sector,” Energy Law Journal 30(1) (April, 2009), pp. 11-51.

- “The Importance of Comprehensiveness in Renewable Electricity and Energy Efficiency Policy,” Energy Policy 37(4) (April, 2009), pp. 1529–1541.

- “Early Modes of Transport in the United States: Lessons for Modern Energy Policymakers,” Policy & Society 27(4) (March, 2009), pp. 411-427.

- “Scaling the Response to Climate Change,” with Marilyn A. Brown, Policy & Society 27(4) (March, 2009), pp. 317-328.

- “Sound Climate, Energy, and Transport Policy for a Carbon Constrained World,” Policy & Society 27(4) (March, 2009), pp. 273-283.

- “Beyond Batteries: An Examination of the Benefits and Barriers to Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs) and a Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Transition,” with Richard F. Hirsh, Energy Policy 37(3) (March, 2009), pp. 1095-1103.

- “Resolving the Impasse in American Energy Policy: The Case for a Transformational R&D Strategy at the U.S. Department of Energy,” Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 13(2) (February, 2009), pp. 346-361.

- “The Problem with the ‘Portfolio Approach’ in American Energy Policy,” Policy Sciences 41(3) (September, 2008), pp. 245-261.

- “Valuing the Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Nuclear Power: A Critical Survey,” Energy Policy 36 (8) (August, 2008), pp. 2940-2953.

- “Renewable Energy: Economically Sound, Politically Difficult,” Electricity Journal 21(5) (June, 2008), pp. 18-29.

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| Working Papers: |
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| Recent Presentations or Conference Papers: |
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- Competing Dimensions of Energy Security—An International Perspective, Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water, and Environment Systems, University of Dubrovnik, Croatia, September 30, 2009

- Reviewing Developments in Solar Energy Markets, Green Investments Summit 2009, Novotel Clark Quay Hotel, Singapore, September 16, 2009

- A Critical Evaluation of Nuclear Power, “Nuclear Politics, Policy, and Planning Workshop” of the 2009 Nordic Environmental Social Sciences Conference, University College London Environmental Institute, London, June 10-12, 2009

- The Benefits of Solar Energy for Singapore and Southeast Asia, SEMICON and SOLARCON Singapore 2009, Suntec International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Singapore, May 22, 2009

- Nuclear Energy and Renewable Power: Which is the Best Climate Change Mitigation Option?, World Renewable Energy Congress 2009 – Asia, Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre, Thailand, May 19-22, 2009

- Energy and Environmental Policy: The Outlook for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency, Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) Institute Conference on Investing in Energy, Calgary, Canada, April 2, 2009

- Nuclear Energy and Renewable Power: Which is the Best Climate Change Mitigation Option?, EnviroEnergy 2009 International Conference on Energy and Environment, Taj Chandigarh, Chandigarh, India, March 21, 2009

- Negative Externalities and Electricity Prices: Exploring the Full Social Costs of Conventional, Renewable, and Nuclear Power Sources, EnviroEnergy 2009 International Conference on Energy and Environment, Taj Chandigarh, Chandigarh, India, March 20, 2009

- The Advantages of and Potential for Renewable Electricity Capacity in Asia, International Seminar on the Emerging Challenges to Energy Security in the Asia Pacific, Centre for Security Analysis, Chennai, India, March 17, 2009

- A New Concept of Energy Security for the Electric Utility Sector,“Energy Security: Conceptual Approaches” Panel of the 50th Annual Convention of the International Studies Association, New York Marriott Marquis, New York City, February 16, 2009

- The (Personal) Ethics of Climate Change and Sustainability, United World Colleges of Southeast Asia, Singapore, January 20, 2009

- Keynote Address: Feed-in Tariffs—Accelerating the Deployment of Renewable Energy, Sustainable Electricity Association of New Zealand 2008 Conference and Exhibition, Wellington, New Zealand, December 11, 2008

- Promoting Paralysis or Progress? Incremental and Transformative R&D Strategies at the US Department of Energy, 30th Society for the Social Studies of Science (4S) Annual Meeting, Rotterdam, the Netherlands, August 23, 2008

- Plenary Address: Challenges for Renewable Energy Development: What Can Asia/Southeast Asia Do? , Singapore Technology Commercialization Forum 2007, Marina Mandarin, Singapore, November 5, 2007

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| Op-Eds, Policy Briefs: |
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- “Is the Nuclear Option the Right One for Malaysia?” New Straits Times (Malaysia), August 12, 2009, p. 17, available at http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/17sova/Article/
- “Trans-Asean Gas Pipeline: Gas Network May Remain a Pipe Dream,” Straits Times (Singapore), June 5, 2009, p. A25, available at http://newshub.nus.edu.sg/news/0906/PDF/GAS-st-5Jun-pA25.pdf
- Marilyn A. Brown and Benjamin K. Sovacool, “A Source of Energy Hiding in Plain Sight,” YaleGlobal Online, February 18, 2009

- “Toward a Sustainable Energy Policy,” San Francisco Chronicle, August 12, 2008, p. B7.

- “Markets Not the Only Answer to Climate Change,” The Nation (Thailand), June 5, 2008, p. 2B.

- “Cutting Petrol Taxes an Easy but False Response,” New Straits Times (Malaysia), June 4, 2008, p. 7.

- “The Very Real Cost of Carbon Offsets and Trading,” with Toby J. Carroll, Bangkok Post (Thailand), March 25, 2008, p. 11.

- “The High Costs of Going Nuclear for Indonesia,” The Jakarta Post (Indonesia), September 13, 2007, p. 7.

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