This book is a concise reader-friendly introductory guide to understanding renewable energy technologies. By using simplified classroom-tested methods developed while teaching the subject to engineering students, the authors explain in simple language an otherwise complex subject in terms that enable readers to gain a rapid fundamental understanding of renewable energy, including basic principles, the different types, energy storage, grid integration, and economies. This powerful tutorial is a great resource for students, engineers, technicians, analysts, investors, and other busy professionals who need to quickly acquire a solid understanding of the science of renewable energy technology.
The next twenty years will be completely unlike the last twenty years. The world is in economic crisis, and there are no easy fixes to our predicament. Unsustainable trends in the economy, energy, and the environment have finally caught up with us and are converging on a very narrow window of time—the "Twenty-Teens." The Crash Course presents our predicament and illuminates the path ahead, so you can face the coming disruptions and thrive--without fearing the future or retreating into denial. In this book you will find solid facts and grounded reasoning presented in a calm, positive, non-partisan manner. Our money system places impossible demands upon a finite world. Exponentially rising levels of debt, based on assumptions of future economic growth to fund repayment, will shudder to a halt and then reverse. Unfortunately, our financial system does not operate in reverse. The consequences of massive deleveraging will be severe. Oil is essential for economic growth. The reality of dwindling oil supplies is now internationally recognized, yet virtually no developed nations have a Plan B. The economic risks to individuals, companies, and countries are varied and enormous. Best-case, living standards will drop steadily worldwide. Worst-case, systemic financial crises will toss the world into jarring chaos. This book is written for those who are motivated to learn about the root causes of our predicaments, protect themselves and their families, mitigate risks as much as possible, and control what effects they can. With challenge comes opportunity, and The Crash Course offers a positive vision for how to reshape our lives to be more balanced, resilient, and sustainable.
This book is a concise introductory guide to understanding the field of modern batteries, which is fast becoming an important area for applications in renewable energy storage, transportation, and consumer devices. By using simplified classroom-tested methods developed while teaching the subject to engineering students, the author explains in simple language an otherwise complex subject in terms that enable readers to gain a rapid understanding of battery basics and the fundamental scientific and engineering concepts and principles behind the technology. This powerful tutorial is a great resource for engineers from other disciplines, technicians, analysts, investors, and other busy professionals who need to quickly acquire a solid understanding of the fast emerging and disruptive battery landscape.
MATLAB and Simulink Crash Course for Engineers is a reader-friendly introductory guide to the features, functions, and applications of MATLAB and Simulink. The book provides readers with real-world examples, exercises, and applications, and offers highly illustrated, step-by-step demonstrations of techniques for the modelling and simulation of complex systems. MATLAB coverage includes vectors and matrices, programs and functions, complex numbers, visualization, solving equations, numerical methods, optimization problems, and graphical user interfaces. The Simulink coverage includes commonly used Simulink blocks, control system simulation, electrical circuit analysis, electric power systems, power electronics, and renewable energy technology. This powerful tutorial is a great resource for students, engineers, and other busy technical professionals who need to quickly acquire a solid understanding of MATLAB and Simulink.
Excel Crash Course for Engineers is a reader-friendly introductory guide to the features, functions, and applications of Microsoft Excel in engineering. The book provides readers with real-world examples and exercises that are directly related to engineering, and offers highly illustrated, step-by-step demonstrations of techniques to solve and visualize engineering problems and situations. The book includes an introduction to MS Excel, along with in-depth coverage of graphing and charting, functions and formulae, Excel's Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) programming language, and engineering data analysis. This powerful tutorial is a great resource for students, engineers, and other busy technical professionals who need to quickly acquire a solid understanding of Excel.
With growing populations across the world consuming Earths limited oil and natural gas reserves, the environmental and economic toll of energy dependence becomes an increasingly global concern. The development of renewable forms of energysolar, wind, water, and geothermal, to name a fewoffers alternatives to fossil fuels. Consumers are embracing these new modes of energy delivery and use. This extensive volume examines the possibility of a cleaner and more energy efficient future by detailing the historic and emerging technologies behind some the most promising alternative resources.
The petroleum age began about 150 years ago. Easily available energy has s- ported major advances in agriculture, industry, transportation, and indeed many diverse activities valued by humans. Now world petroleum and natural gas s- plies have peaked and their supplies will slowly decline over the next 40–50 years until depleted. Although small amounts of petroleum and natural gas will remain underground, it will be energetically and economically impossible to extract. In the United States, coal supplies could be available for as long as 40–50 years, depending on how rapidly coal is utilized as a replacement for petroleum and natural gas. Having been comfortable with the security provided by fossil energy, especially petroleum and natural gas, we appear to be slow to recognize the energy crisis in the U. S. and world. Serious energy conservation and research on viable renewable - ergy technologies are needed. Several renewable energy technologies already exist, but sound research is needed to improve their effectiveness and economics. Most of the renewable energy technologies are in uenced by geographic location and face problems of intermittent energy supply and storage. Most renewable technologies require extensive land; a few researchers have even suggested that one-half of all land biomass could be harvested in order to supply the U. S. with 30% of its liquid fuel! Some optimistic investigations of renewable energy have failed to recognize that only 0. 1% of the solar energy is captured annually in the U. S.
This book is a concise introductory guide to understanding the foundations of electrochemistry. By using simplified classroom-tested methods developed while teaching the subject to engineering students, the author explains in simple language an otherwise complex subject that can be difficult to master for most. It provides readers with an understanding of important electrochemical processes and practical industrial applications, such as electrolysis processes, metal electrowinning, corrosion and analytical applications, and galvanic cells such as batteries, fuel cells, and supercapacitors. This powerful tutorial is a great resource for students, engineers, technicians, and other busy professionals who need to quickly acquire a solid understanding of the science of electrochemistry.
This concise guide provides the first complete overview of renewable energy technologies in Cuba and their current capabilities and prospects. Coverage includes generation and storage systems, renewable energy installations (hydropower, solar PV, wind, biomass, ocean, and solar thermal), electrical grid history and characteristics, and an analysis of Cuba’s electrical energy resiliency.
