Electric power generation and distribution - Hear engines and heat exchangers - The Herat and geothermal energy - Origin of fossil fuels Fossil energy - Solar energy - Solar electric technology - Mass-energy transformations - Nucleosynthesis - Nuclear energy - Alternative energy: wind and water - Alternative energy: biomass and synfuels - Energy, economics, and environment - The twenty-first century energy mix.
Sustainable development is triggering a re-assessment of innovation and technological change in all fields, and energy is no exception. A key challenge of energy sustainability is to examine the range of credible potential pathways of combined social, environmental and technological systems under conditions of uncertainty, stagger, personal preferences and complication. Conventional energy resources essentially fossil fuels are becoming limited because of the swift increase in energy demand. This disparity in energy demand and supply has placed enormous coercion not only on consumer prices, but also on the natural world; this requires mankind to look for sustainable energy resources. Sreekanth. K J, PhD begins this book by first describing the energy efficiency and emission reduction characteristics of the road transportation sector in Chapter One. Chapter Two proposes the costs of renewable energy promotion and benefits through an analysis of the European case by Margarita Ortega Izquierdo and Pablo Del Río. Next, Chapter Three, by Jiang Yu and Zheng Fang, presents a review on residential electricity price policies in China. In Chapter Four, Fotouh Al-Ragom discusses the behavior change approach with a metric to promote and sustain energy efficiency. The Nigerian electricity market and its future is explained in Chapter Five by Karen Maguire and Kolawole Olaniyi. The institutionalization of the common gas market in the context of institutional evolution of the Eurasian economic union by Elena Shadrina is explained in Chapter Six.
Solar Energy Systems: Progress and Future Directions presents some new concepts and ideas regarding future steps in the development and progress of solar thermal energy. Preliminary results for advanced control of solar plants are presented using effective defocusing mechanisms.The authors discuss the sizing ratio of grid-connected photovoltaic systems and the relationship of this parameter with the maximum available power. Additionally, the optimum value of the sizing ratio of a grid-connected photovoltaic system is defined as one that maximizes the yearly energy efficiency in the photovoltaic installation considered.The concluding study makes a comparative econometric analysis on the relationship between the solar energy consumption that is produced by solar energy systems and the economic growth for the group of G-7 & G-20 countries. The econometric analysis includes panel data techniques with a chosen appropriate production function.
This edited book explicitly deals with the energy humanities, summarising existing knowledge in the area and outlining possible future directions for the nascent field. Assuming a variety of disciplinary stances and using a plethora of methodologies to address a number of pressing energy-related issues, the individual contributions showcase the crucial importance of including the humanities and social sciences into the current discussion on energy. Furthermore, they illustrate one of the central claims of the energy humanities, namely, that energy permeates all aspects of our contemporary modes of existence, and is inextricably linked with historical, political, social, ideological, and cultural issues, relationships, and practices. Through numerous case studies, Energy Humanities and Energy Transition looks to the past, present, and future in search of examples of best practices and possible models for pathways to a successful energy transition and life ‘after oilʼ. While much of existing research on energy humanities has been criticised for its excessive focus on oil, this book considers a wide range of energy resources, including nuclear energy, renewables, and natural gas. Furthermore, it brings to the forefront under-researched topics such as the colonial legacy inscribed in energy infrastructure and the energy history of the humanities. The contributions in this volume explore not only how the perspectives and expertise of the humanities and social sciences can alter the discourse on energy transition, and our way of thinking about possible solutions and future scenarios, but also how their new focus on energy affects the disciplines themselves. Energy Humanities and Energy Transition presents a variety of theories, methods, topics, and disciplinary angles, meaning it will be of interest to a wide audience, from practitioners and policy makers, to students and researchers working across the humanities and social sciences. The thematically oriented structure, distinct focus of each individual chapter, and the comprehensive introduction and conclusion that contextualize the contributions within the wider framework of energy transition, make this edited book accessible to readers from many different fields and suitable for various university programs.
For multi-user PDF licensing, please contact customer service. Energy touches our lives in countless ways and its costs are felt when we fill up at the gas pump, pay our home heating bills, and keep businesses both large and small running. There are long-term costs as well: to the environment, as natural resources are depleted and pollution contributes to global climate change, and to national security and independence, as many of the world's current energy sources are increasingly concentrated in geopolitically unstable regions. The country's challenge is to develop an energy portfolio that addresses these concerns while still providing sufficient, affordable energy reserves for the nation. The United States has enormous resources to put behind solutions to this energy challenge; the dilemma is to identify which solutions are the right ones. Before deciding which energy technologies to develop, and on what timeline, we need to understand them better. America's Energy Future analyzes the potential of a wide range of technologies for generation, distribution, and conservation of energy. This book considers technologies to increase energy efficiency, coal-fired power generation, nuclear power, renewable energy, oil and natural gas, and alternative transportation fuels. It offers a detailed assessment of the associated impacts and projected costs of implementing each technology and categorizes them into three time frames for implementation.
This book discusses various renewable energy resources and technologies. Topics covered include recent advances in photobioreactor design; microalgal biomass harvesting, drying, and processing; and technological advances and optimised production systems as prerequisites for achieving a positive energy balance. It highlights alternative resources that can be used to replace fossil fuels, such as algal biofuels, biodiesel, bioethanol, and biohydrogen. Further, it reviews microbial technologies, discusses an immobilization method, and highlights the efficiency of enzymes as a key factor in biofuel production. In closing, the book outlines future research directions to increase oil yields in microalgae, which could create new opportunities for lipid-based biofuels, and provides an outlook on the future of global biofuel production. Given its scope, the book will appeal to all researchers and engineers working in the renewable energy sector.
Clean and sustainable energy is of paramount importance for industrial activities, economic development, environment, and public welfare. Aiming to reach NetZero, researchers in both academia and industry as well as policymakers are now putting tremendous efforts into the generation, storage, and applications of clean energy. This collection focuses on new and efficient energy technologies including innovative ore beneficiation, smelting technologies, recycling and waste heat recovery, and emerging novel energy solutions. The volume also covers a broad range of mature and new technological aspects of sustainable energy ecosystems, processes that improve energy efficiency, reduce thermal intensity and pollutants, and reduce carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions. Topics include, but are not limited to:• Energy efficient technologies for minerals, metals & materials processing • Clean energy technologies, such as biomass, solar, wind, geothermal, nuclear including SMRs, hydrogen, etc. • Renewable energy resources to reduce the consumption of traditional fossil fuels • Emerging technologies for renewable energy harvesting, conversion, and storage • New concepts or devices for energy generation, conversion, and distribution • Waste heat recovery and other industrial energy efficient technologies • Energy education and energy regulation • Scale-up, stability, and life-cycle analysis of energy technologies and improvement of existing energy-intensive processes • Theory and simulation in energy harvesting, conversion, and storage • Design, operation, and optimization of processes for energy generation (e.g., carbon capture) and conversion of energy carriers • Energy efficiency improvement in process engineering (e.g., for biomass conversion and improved combustion) and electrical engineering (e.g., for power conversion and developing smart grids) • Thermo-electric/electrolysis/photo-electrolysis/fundamentals of PV • Emission control, CO2 capture, and conversion • Carbon sequestration techniques • CO2 and other greenhouse gas reduction metallurgy in ferrous (iron & steel making and forming), non-ferrous and reactive metals including critical rare-earth metals • Sustainability and life cycle assessment of energy systems • Thermodynamics and modelling for sustainable metallurgical processes • 'Smart cool materials' for urban heat island mitigation (such as cool roof infrared reflecting material, and low-temperature heat absorbers for use in air conditioner condensers - like 'endothermic materials') • Methodologies for reducing the cost of energy materials production • Circular economy and developing resource efficiency model for cutting down the transport from remote places • Materials extraction and processing steps for enhancing energy efficiencies in batteries, supercapacitors, and energy efficient cells • Foundational industry (metals-alloys, chemicals, refractories, cement) and energy economy and role of mineral extraction
Given the potential disruption of climate change, understanding energy issues and technologies is more important than ever if societies are to make informed choices on policy. Now in its third edition, Introduction to Energy explores the crucial issues connected to modern energy technology and its uses. Fully updated to respond to the substantial developments in the energy sector, the book expands on the relationships of energy use and climate change; of energy availability and the alleviation of world poverty; and of energy consumption and the sustainability of the lifestyles of people in the industrialized world. Directed at a broad readership, it assumes no prior technical expertise and avoids complex mathematical formulations, continuing to provide a standard for introductory energy courses. It is also a useful supplementary text for programs in public policy, business law and resource economics.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • In this urgent, authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical—and accessible—plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid a climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science, and finance, he has focused on what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide to certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only explains why we need to work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases, but also details what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. Drawing on his understanding of innovation and what it takes to get new ideas into the market, he describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions, where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively, where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete, practical plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions—suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers, and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but if we follow the plan he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.
