Overview: The provision of sustainable energy supplies for an expanding and increasingly productive world is one of the major issues facing civilization today. Renewable Energy examines both the practical and economic potential of the renewable energy sources to meet this challenge. The underlying physical and technological principles behind deriving power from direct solar (solar thermal and photovoltaics), indirect solar (biomass, hydro, wind and wave) and non-solar (tidal and geothermal) energy sources are explained, within the context of their environmental impacts, their economics and their future prospects. Together with its companion volume, Energy Systems and Sustainability, this book provides both perspective and detail on the relative merits and state of progress of technologies for utilizing the various 'renewables'. The analysis considers emissions, sustainability, cost implications and energy security, as political and economic pressures move society towards a low-carbon future. From an overview of basic energy conversion processes, through a discussion of the individual renewable sources, to a concluding examination of the prospects for their integration into national and international networks, this book provides a valuable insight into prospects for the renewables.
This fourth volume in the Commonwealth Blue Economy Series, Marine Renewable Energy, explores the potential for the development of the blue economy by providing a high-level review of actions needed to progress marine renewable energy ...
Pedal Power in Work, Leisure, and Transportation
Despite targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions, and the prospect of petroleum resources becoming increasingly scarce, road transport energy use is at an all-time peak in many countries. How can...
Car ownership is set to triple by 2050, trucking activity will double and air travel could increase fourfold. This book examines how to enable mobility without accelerating climate change. it...
Focusing on the wealth of information emerging in the area of energy medicine, this unique resource explores mechanisms by which mind and body processes influence the body's healing and performance...
The direct conversion of daylight into electricity by photovoltaic solar cells is one of the most promising of the renewable energy options. The importance of the technology is reflected in...
Energy can be either kinetic energy or potential energy. Energy has many different forms. It can change from one form to another, but it cannot be created or destroyed. When...
The transformation from a carbon-based world economy to one based on high efficiency and renewables is a necessary step if human society is to achieve sustainability. But while scientists and...
California was the first to open its electricity markets to competition (1998) and is often viewed as a prototype for deregulation. This book takes readers into the heart of the...
Eunice Anderson brings a commonsense approach to solving the nations energy problems