For decades, the nation has benefited from relatively inexpensive energy, in the process growing heavily reliant on conventional fossil fuels -- oil, natural gas, and coal. However, in the current wake of higher energy costs and environmental concerns about fossil fuel emissions, renewed attention is turning to the development of advanced energy technologies as alternatives. In the United States, the Department of Energy (DOE) has long conducted research, development, and demonstration (R&D) on advanced renewable, fossil, and nuclear energy technologies. DOE's Office of Science has also funded basic energy-related research. This book presents important information of developments in this essential field.
Electricity, supplied reliably and affordably, is foundational to the U.S. economy and is utterly indispensable to modern society. However, emissions resulting from many forms of electricity generation create environmental risks that could have significant negative economic, security, and human health consequences. Large-scale installation of cleaner power generation has been generally hampered because greener technologies are more expensive than the technologies that currently produce most of our power. Rather than trade affordability and reliability for low emissions, is there a way to balance all three? The Power of Change: Innovation for Development and Deployment of Increasingly Clean Energy Technologies considers how to speed up innovations that would dramatically improve the performance and lower the cost of currently available technologies while also developing new advanced cleaner energy technologies. According to this report, there is an opportunity for the United States to continue to lead in the pursuit of increasingly clean, more efficient electricity through innovation in advanced technologies. The Power of Change: Innovation for Development and Deployment of Increasingly Clean Energy Technologies makes the case that America's advantagesâ€"world-class universities and national laboratories, a vibrant private sector, and innovative states, cities, and regions that are free to experiment with a variety of public policy approachesâ€"position the United States to create and lead a new clean energy revolution. This study focuses on five paths to accelerate the market adoption of increasing clean energy and efficiency technologies: (1) expanding the portfolio of cleaner energy technology options; (2) leveraging the advantages of energy efficiency; (3) facilitating the development of increasing clean technologies, including renewables, nuclear, and cleaner fossil; (4) improving the existing technologies, systems, and infrastructure; and (5) leveling the playing field for cleaner energy technologies. The Power of Change: Innovation for Development and Deployment of Increasingly Clean Energy Technologies is a call for leadership to transform the United States energy sector in order to both mitigate the risks of greenhouse gas and other pollutants and to spur future economic growth. This study's focus on science, technology, and economic policy makes it a valuable resource to guide support that produces innovation to meet energy challenges now and for the future.
This book, based on the research experience and outcomes of a group of international contributors, addresses a range of advanced energy efficiency technologies and their applications in solar heating, cooling and power generation, while also providing solutions for tackling recurring low efficiency problems in today's systems. It highlights the latest technologies and methods, which can significantly improve the performance of solar systems, enabling readers to design, construct and apply high-performance solar systems in or for their own projects. The contributors provide a systematic introduction to state-of-the-art energy efficiency technologies that demonstrates how to implement innovative solar systems. These technologies include: " heat pipes and loop heat pipes; " phase change materials (PCMs) and PCM slurries; " micro-channel panels; " desiccant/adsorption cycling; " ejector cooling and heat pumps; and " solar concentration and thermoelectric units. The book shows how innovative solar systems applicable to rural and urban buildings can be analysed and demonstrates the successful implementation of these advanced technologies. It delivers the design principles and associated energy performance assessment methods for a range of selected solar heating, cooling and power generation projects. This book offers a valuable source of information for final-year undergraduate students, as well as graduate students and academic lecturers, as it promotes the widespread deployment of advanced solar heating, cooling and power generation technologies applicable for buildings across the globe. The book is also a good point of reference for design engineers and energy consultants who wish to extend their knowledge of advanced technologies used to achieve energy efficiency.
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.
Exergy, Second Edition deals with exergy and its applications to various energy systems and applications as a potential tool for design, analysis and optimization, and its role in minimizing and/or eliminating environmental impacts and providing sustainable development. In this regard, several key topics ranging from the basics of the thermodynamic concepts to advanced exergy analysis techniques in a wide range of applications are covered as outlined in the contents. - Offers comprehensive coverage of exergy and its applications, along with the most up-to-date information in the area with recent developments - Connects exergy with three essential areas in terms of energy, environment and sustainable development - Provides a number of illustrative examples, practical applications, and case studies - Written in an easy-to-follow style, starting from the basics to advanced systems
Offers an evolutionary economics perspective on energy and innovation policies in the wider context of the transition to sustainable development. This work also includes an analysis of the environmental policy implications of evolutionary economics; and a critical examination of Dutch environmental and innovation policies and policy documents.
Advances in Steam Turbines for Modern Power Plants provides an authoritative review of steam turbine design optimization, analysis and measurement, the development of steam turbine blades, and other critical components, including turbine retrofitting and steam turbines for renewable power plants. As a very large proportion of the world's electricity is currently generated in systems driven by steam turbines, (and will most likely remain the case in the future) with steam turbines operating in fossil-fuel, cogeneration, combined cycle, integrated gasification combined cycle, geothermal, solar thermal, and nuclear plants across the world, this book provides a comprehensive assessment of the research and work that has been completed over the past decades. - Presents an in-depth review on steam turbine design optimization, analysis, and measurement - Written by a range of experts in the area - Provides an overview of turbine retrofitting and advanced applications in power generation
