
A recent article in Forbes lists ENERGY 2040: Aligning Innovation, Economics and Decarbonization by Suresh Sharma and Deepak Divan as one of the 10 Essential Books And Podcasts Every Leader Needs In 2025. Contributor Michael Sheldrick writes the following.
“If nuclear war tops existential threats, climate change follows closely. Meeting the world’s soaring energy demands—electric vehicles, heat pumps, AI, and semiconductor factories—while lifting energy-poor communities out of poverty requires bold, holistic solutions. Enter Energy 2040 by former GE executive Suresh Sharma and Georgia Tech professor Deepak Divan.
The book delivers a clear roadmap for scaling clean energy breakthroughs and fixing aging power grids—critical for a successful energy transition. Their insights are eye-opening: solar energy costs dropped 97.5% between 2000 and 2022, catching industries off guard. Yet, they argue, the real challenge isn’t just generating energy but delivering it reliably and equitably.
Sharma and Divan highlight the risk of blackouts sparking misguided backlash against renewables, underscoring the urgent need for upgraded grids designed to handle intermittent clean energy sources.
The good news? Innovative technologies already exist to decarbonize the planet. The challenge: scaling them fast enough. Energy 2040 proposes three solutions, which I’ve written in greater depth previously: accelerate commercialization, pilot new transmission models, and implement effective policies.
Concise, actionable, and timely, this book is a must-read for anyone invested in the clean energy revolution.”