# Power Systems Without Fuel

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1506.04799 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1506.04799/

## Key facts

- Cited by 4 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 15 Jun 2015.

## Built on by (most cited first, 4 of 4)

- [Multi-Agent Reinforcement Learning for Fast-Timescale Demand Response of Residential Loads](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.02593/) (2023)
- [Online Dynamic Submodular Optimization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2306.10835/) (2023)
- [A Unified Approach for Learning the Dynamics of Power System Generators and Inverter-based Resources](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.14454/) (2024)
- [Functional role of synchronization: A mean-field control perspective](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2502.00590/) (2025)

## Abstract (arXiv)

The finiteness of fossil fuels implies that future electric power systems may predominantly source energy from fuel-free renewable resources like wind and solar. Evidently, these power systems without fuel will be environmentally benign, sustainable, and subject to milder failure scenarios. Many of these advantages were projected decades ago with the definition of the soft energy path, which describes a future where all energy is provided by numerous small, simple, and diverse renewable sources. Here we provide a thorough investigation of power systems without fuel from technical and economic standpoints. The paper is organized by timescale and covers issues like the irrelevance of unit commitment in networks without large, fuel-based generators, the dubiousness of nodal pricing without fuel costs, and the need for new system-level models and control methods for semiconductor-based energy-conversion interfaces.