Humanity is facing a steadily diminishing supply of fossil fuels, causing researchers, policy makers, and the population as a whole to turn increasingly to alternative and especially renewable sources of energy to make up this deficit. Gathering over 80 peer-reviewed entries from the Encyclopedia of Sustainability Science and Technologies, Renewable Energy Systems provides an authoritative introduction to a wide variety of renewable energy sources. State-of-the-art coverage includes geothermal power stations, ocean energy, renewable energy from biomass, waste to energy, and wind power. This comprehensive, two-volume work provides an excellent introduction for those entering these fields, as well as new insights for advanced researchers, industry experts, and decision makers.
Geothermal Power Generation, New Developments and Innovations, Second Edition provides an update to the advanced energy technologies that are urgently required to meet the challenges of economic development, climate change mitigation, and energy security. Edited by respected and leading experts in the field, this book provides a comprehensive overview of the major aspects of geothermal power production. Chapters cover resource discovery, resource characterization, energy conversion systems, design, economic considerations, and a range of fascinating and updated case studies from across the world.Geothermal resources are considered renewable and are currently the only renewable source able to generate baseload electricity while producing very low levels of greenhouse gas emissions, thus playing a key role in future energy needs. - Provides readers with a comprehensive and systematic overview of geothermal power generation - Presents an update to advanced energy technologies that are urgently required to meet the challenges of economic development, climate change mitigation, and energy security - Edited by authorities in the field and contributed to by global experts in their areas - Supports sustainability and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) 7, 9, 11 and 13
Our society faces a choice. We could be enjoying a sustainable lifestyle but we have chosen not to. In three generations we have consumed half the oil produced by photosynthesis over eight million generations. In two generations we have used half our uranium resources. With threats from global warming, oil depletion and nuclear disaster, we are running out of options. Solar power, as Keith Barnham says, is our necessary solution.Barnham explains that the roots of solar energy lie in a little known equation E=hf, an equation which was coincidentally celebrated (and explained to the world) by Einstein in the same year he discovered E=mc2. He alleges that the former equation has been overlooked in favor of the latter, much to our detriment, and Barnham is here to offer us a solution: We can still turn things around and solar energy is the key.In this provocative, inspiring, passionately argued book, Keith Barnham outlines actions that any one and all of us can take to make an impact now and on future generations. The Burning Answer is a solar manifesto for the new climate-aware generation and a must-read for climate-change skeptics.
Energy comes in many shapes and forms, from wind, solar power, geothermal, and biomass to coal, natural gas, and petroleum. The energy we consume is constantly changing, but the use of these resources-whether renewable or nonrenewable-has long-term impacts on our planet. While there has been this recent shift to renewable energy within the United States, the worldwide demand for all energy types continues to increase at a rapid rate. In fact, it has increased by 84% over the past twenty years. Despite their dwindling supply, these resources are still heavily relied on today. Coal still accounts for 30% of the electricity generated by the United States, even though natural gas is now the primary energy used to produce electricity. Likewise, only 7% of electricity usage worldwide is linked to solar and wind energy. In The Changing Energy Mix, Paul F. Meier compares twelve renewable and nonrenewable energy types using twelve common technical criteria. These criteria span projected reserves, cost to the consumer and supplier, energy balances, environmental issues, land area required, and lasting impacts. While explaining the pros and cons of these resources, Meier takes readers through the history of energy in the United States and world. He provides insight into energy sources, such as wind-powered and solar-powered electricity (which did not exist until the mid and late 80s, respectively), and he explains the constantly evolving world of energy. Breaking down the potential promises and struggles of transitioning to a more renewable energy-based economy, Meier explains the positive and negative implications of these various sources of energy. The resulting book equips readers with a unique understanding of the history, availability, technology, implementation cost, and concerns of renewable and nonrenewable energy.
Environmental life cycle assessment is often thought of as cradle to grave and therefore as the most complete accounting of the environmental costs and benefits of a product or service. However, as anyone who has done an environmental life cycle assessment knows, existing tools have many problems: data is difficult to assemble and life cycle studies take months of effort. A truly comprehensive analysis is prohibitive, so analysts are often forced to simply ignore many facets of life cycle impacts. But the focus on one aspect of a product or service can result in misleading indications if that aspect is benign while other aspects pollute or are otherwise unsustainable. This book summarizes the EIO-LCA method, explains its use in relation to other life cycle assessment models, and provides sample applications and extensions of the model into novel areas. A final chapter explains the free, easy-to-use software tool available on a companion website. (www.eiolca.net) The software tool provides a wealth of data, summarizing the current U.S. economy in 500 sectors with information on energy and materials use, pollution and greenhouse gas discharges, and other attributes like associated occupational deaths and injuries. The joint project of twelve faculty members and over 20 students working together over the past ten years at the Green Design Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, the EIO-LCA has been applied to a wide range of products and services. It will prove useful for research, industry, and in economics, engineering, or interdisciplinary classes in green design.
This book is a uniquely pedagogical while still comprehensive state-of-the-art description of LCA-methodology and its broad range of applications. The five parts of the book conveniently provide: I) the history and context of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) with its central role as quantitative and scientifically-based tool supporting society’s transitioning towards a sustainable economy; II) all there is to know about LCA methodology illustrated by a red-thread example which evolves as the reader advances; III) a wealth of information on a broad range of LCA applications with dedicated chapters on policy development, prospective LCA, life cycle management, waste, energy, construction and building, nanotechnology, agrifood, transport, and LCA-related concepts such as footprinting, ecolabelling,design for environment, and cradle to cradle. IV) A cookbook giving the reader recipes for all the concrete actions needed to perform an LCA. V) An appendix with an LCA report template, a full example LCA report serving as inspiration for students who write their first LCA report, and a more detailed overview of existing LCIA methods and their similarities and differences.
Switzerland's Energy Strategy 2050 requires energy efficiency to be substantially improved, the proportion of fossil fuels in the energy supply to be considerably reduced, and nuclear power to be phased out, while meeting highly ambitious climate protection targets. One of the core implications is the need for a massive increase of the use of renewable sources for electricity generation. In this context, the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) estimates that by 2050 deep geothermal energy could contribute 4–5 TWh per year to electricity generation in Switzerland, which would be a substantial contribution to a projected annual power need of 60 TWh. Geothermal energy is attractive because of the very large scale of the resource, its expected relatively low CO2 emissions, and its reliable, all-day domestic availability. However, the future contribution of deep geothermal energy is subject to major uncertainties: How much of this resource can be exploited and at what economic cost? What are the environmental and risk-related externalities that the public must be willing to bear? How does its overall performance compare to competing energy resources? And will the regulatory framework and public acceptance be sufficient to allow geothermal energy to provide a significant contribution? By way of this major interdisciplinary study, already considered a work of reference, TA-SWISS provides answers to these questions in a comprehensive and balanced way, thereby supplying a sound basis for stakeholder decision-making.
The authors of this Handbook offer a comprehensive overview of the various aspects of energy storage. After explaining the importance and role of energy storage, they discuss the need for energy storage solutions with regard to providing electrical power, heat and fuel in light of the Energy Transition. The book’s main section presents various storage technologies in detail and weighs their respective advantages and disadvantages. Sections on sample practical applications and the integration of storage solutions across all energy sectors round out the book. A wealth of graphics and examples illustrate the broad field of energy storage, and are also available online. The book is based on the 2nd edition of the very successful German book Energiespeicher. It features a new chapter on legal considerations, new studies on storage needs, addresses Power-to-X for the chemical industry, new Liquid Organic Hydrogen Carriers (LOHC) and potential-energy storage, and highlights the latest cost trends and battery applications. “Finally – a comprehensive book on the Energy Transition that is written in a style accessible to and inspiring for non-experts.” Franz Alt, journalist and book author “I can recommend this outstanding book to anyone who is truly interested in the future of our country. It strikingly shows: it won’t be easy, but we can do it.” Prof. Dr. Harald Lesch, physicist and television host
A component in the America's Energy Future study, Electricity from Renewable Resources examines the technical potential for electric power generation with alternative sources such as wind, solar-photovoltaic, geothermal, solar-thermal, hydroelectric, and other renewable sources. The book focuses on those renewable sources that show the most promise for initial commercial deployment within 10 years and will lead to a substantial impact on the U.S. energy system. A quantitative characterization of technologies, this book lays out expectations of costs, performance, and impacts, as well as barriers and research and development needs. In addition to a principal focus on renewable energy technologies for power generation, the book addresses the challenges of incorporating such technologies into the power grid, as well as potential improvements in the national electricity grid that could enable better and more extensive utilization of wind, solar-thermal, solar photovoltaics, and other renewable technologies.
