Superpower

One Man's Quest to Transform American Energy

By: Russell Gold

Narrated by: Michael David Axtell

Meet Michael Skelly, the man boldly harnessing wind energy that could power America’s future and break its fossil fuel dependence in this “essential, compelling look into the future of the nation’s power grid” (Bryan Burrough, author of The Big Rich).

The United States is in the midst of an energy transition. We have fallen out of love with dirty fossil fuels and want to embrace renewable energy sources like wind and solar. A transition from a North American power grid that is powered mostly by fossil fuels to one that is predominantly clean is feasible, but it would require a massive building spree—wind turbines, solar panels, wires, and billions of dollars would be needed.

Enter Michael Skelly, an infrastructure builder who began working on wind energy in 2000 when many considered the industry a joke. Eight years later, Skelly helped build the second largest wind power company in the United States—and sold it for $2 billion. Wind energy was no longer funny—it was well on its way to powering more than 6% of electricity in the United States.

Award-winning journalist, Russel Gold tells Skelly’s story, which in many ways is the story of our nation’s evolving relationship with renewable energy. Gold illustrates how Skelly’s company, Clean Line Energy, conceived the idea for a new power grid that would allow sunlight where abundant to light up homes in the cloudy states thousands of miles away, and take wind from the Great Plains to keep air conditioners running in Atlanta. Thrilling, provocative, and important, Superpower is a fascinating look at America’s future.

A story of business audacity, hope, and failure

Gold writes an interesting story about one of the most ambitious energy transmission projects in history.

Axtell brings the characters to life and narrates with energy and enthusiasm to make listening enjoyable.

Good read

I enjoyed listening to this book about renewable energy and Transmission line planning and engineering. It really goes through the difficulties of upgrading our aging electric infrastructure.

Loved it!

Even if you disagree... it will help you understand. The narrator was great. It is enlightening.

Good But Gets Stale

I was required to read this book for my Engineering class. Overall it was a good book but, did get stale near the middle. Definitely could have been a bit shorter with more tightly packed events. But it was a good listen and I would recommend it if even somewhat interested in renewable energy. The reading was great. Easy to listen to for long hours.

A great lesson in the basics of energy policy.

I'm a student in an energy policy program at a university in Pennsylvania. This book will be one that I will be recommending to my professors as supplemental reading material.