Electricity production accounts for about ¼ of total US greenhouse gas emissions. This is because fossil-fuel based power plants (like natural gas) dominate our electricity production needs. These plants are cheap and reliable, but emit massive amounts of carbon dioxide. In this class, we'll be discussing 3 alternatives to conventional fossil-fuel power plants that are clean, cheap, and reliable - achieving the holy grail of energy. First, renewable energy. Renewable energy generation through solar and wind is cheap (in fact, cheaper than natural gas), but the main issue is its intermittency - it doesn't generate on demand. We'll be discussing energy storage solutions (like batteries) that can store the intermittent power and deliver it on demand. Second, carbon capture and storage. To eliminate the carbon emissions of existing natural gas plants, carbon capture can be tacked onto the output gases to collect any emitted carbon. We'll be discussing different carbon capture technologies, as well as what you can do with the CO2 after it's captured. Third, nuclear power. Nuclear has a bad reputation, and it's also quite costly. We'll be discussing how conventional nuclear power works, and some recent advances including small modular reactors that will help nuclear deploy faster and reduce costs. For each solution, we'll discuss both the scientific backing of how the technology works, as well as the current state of technology development and deployment. We'll also discuss economics and how we can ensure these technologies are widely adopted. We hope you'll gain an appreciation for the challenging but important task of revamping our energy ecosystem to be carbon-free!