Renewable Energy :power for a sustainable future / Godfrey Boyle

Overview: --
Introduction: --
Style and approach --
Summary of chapter 1 --
Brief history of energy use --
Technical interlude: what are energy, power, etc? --
Present-day fuel use: --
World energy supplies --
Energy use in Europe --
Energy use and the potential for savings --
Energy problems of modern societies: --
Environmental problems --
Sustainability problems --
Social problems --
Renewable energy sources: a way out?: --
Origins and size of renewable energy resources --
Renewables as the basis of a technologically sophisticated society --
References: --
Further reading: --
Solar Thermal Energy: --
Introduction --
Case Study: Solar water heaters in South London: --
Nature and availability of solar radiation: --
Wavelengths of solar radiation --
Direct and diffuse radiation --
Availability of solar radiation --
Tilt and orientation --
Magic of glass: --
Transparency --
Heat loss mechanisms --
Low-temperature solar energy applications: --
Domestic water heating --
Domestic space heating --
Varieties of solar heating system --
Active solar heating --
History --
Solar collectors --
Robustness mounting and orientation --
Active solar space heating --
Solar-aided district heating --
Passive solar heating: --
History --
Direct gain buildings as solar collectors --
Passive solar heating versus superinsulation --
Window energy balance --
General passive solar heating techniques --
Conservatories, greenhouses and atria --
Trombe walls --
Avoiding overshading --
Daylighting: --
Solar thermal engines and electricity generation: --
First solar engine age --
New solar age --
Power towers --
Parabolic trough concentrator systems --
Parabolic dish concentrator systems --
Solar ponds --
Ocean thermal energy conversion --
Economics, potential and environmental impact: --
Economics and potential --
Domestic active solar water heating --
Swimming pool water heating --
Active solar space heating --
Passive solar heating and daylighting --
Solar thermal engines and electricity generation --
conclusions --
References: --
Further reading: --
Solar Photovoltaics: --
Introduction: --
Case Study: Rappenecker Hof: --
Introducing photvoltaics: --
Historical background --
PV in silicon: basic principles: --
Semiconductors and 'doping' --
P-n junction --
PV effect --
Monocrystalline silicon cells --
Reducing the cost of crystalline PV cells: --
Silicon ribbon cells --
Polycrystalline silicon cells --
Polycrystalline thin film silicon cells --
Gallium arsenide cells --
Thin film PV: --
Amorphous silicon --
Copper indium diselenide --
Cadmium telluride --
Other innovative PV technologies: --
Multi-junction PV cells --
Concentrating PV systems --
Fluorescent concentrators --
Silicon spheres --
Photo-electrochemical cells --
Electrical characteristics of silicon PV cells and modules: --
PV systems for remote power: --
Autonomous' roof-top PV for UK homes --
PV systems in developing countries --
Grid-connected PV systems: --
Grid-connected PV systems for residences --
PV cladding for the roofs and walls of non-domestic buildings --
Large, grid-connected PV power plants --
Satellite solar power --
Economics of PV energy systems: --
Cost of power from a small PV system in the UK --
Cost of power from a grid-connected PV system in the UK --
Reducing the costs of power from PV --
Environmental impact and safety: --
Environmental impact and safety: of PV systems --
Environmental impact and safety of PV module production and recycling --
Energy balance of PV systems --
Integration of PV into future energy systems: --
References: --
Further reading --
Biomass: --
Introduction: --
Biomass --
Biofuels --
Summary --
Biomass past and present: --
From wood to coal --
Present biomass contributions --
Case Study: Wood as fuel: --
Biomass as a fuel: --
What are fuels? --
Biomass as a solar energy store --
Conversion efficiencies --
Estimating the resource --
Extracting the energy: --
Direct combustion --
Gasification --
Pyrolysis --
Gas turbines --
Synthesising fuels --
Anaerobic digestion --
Biogas --
Landfill gas --
Fermentation --
Agricultural residues: --
Wood residues --
Temperate crop wastes --
Animal wastes --
Tropical crop wastes --
Energy from refuse: --
Municipal solid waste --
MSW combustion --
Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) --
Landfill gas developments --
Anaerobic digesters for MSW --
Commercial and industrial wastes --
Energy crops: --
Woody crops --
Ethanol from sugar cane --
Maize, sorghum and miscanthus --
Vegetable oils --
Environmental benefits and impacts: --
Carbon dioxide --
Other combustion products --
Methane --
Land use --
Energy balances --
Economics: --
Institutional factors --
Biogas --
Wood energy crops --
Forestry wastes --
Electricity from biomass --
Power from surplus straw --
Ethanol production in Brazil --
New technologies: --
Power from gas turbines --
Biomass fuel cells --
Photobiological fuel production --
Future prospects: --
World view --
Regional views --
References: --
Further reading: --
Hydroelectricity: --
Summary: --
Case Study: Galloway hydros: --
Resource: --
Stored potential energy --
Power, head and flow rate --
World resource --
Present world capacity and output --
Brief history of water power: --
Prime mover --
Types of water-wheel --
Nineteenth-century hydro technology --
Types of hydroelectric plant: --
Low, medium and high heads --
Estimating the power --
Francis Turbine: --
Action of the turbine --
Maximising the efficiency --
Limits to the Francis turbine --
Propellers': --
Impulse Turbines: --
Pelton wheels --
Turgo and cross-flow turbines --
Specific speed and ranges of application: --
Small-scale hydroelectricity: --
World-wide developments --
Small-scale potential in the UK --
Environmental considerations: --
Hydrological effects --
Dams and their effects --
Social effects --
Integration: --
Power stations as elements in a system --
Pumped storage --
Economics: --
Costs --
Investing in hydroelectricity --
Future prospects: --
Conventional large installations --
Small scale plant --
References: --
Further Reading. Tidal Power: ---
Introduction: --
Nature of the resource --
Basic physics --
Power generation --
Technical factors: --
Environmental factors: --
Integration: --
Economic factors: --
Potential: --
United Kingdom --
World --
Conclusions: --
References: --
Further reading: --
Wind Energy: --
Introduction: --
Case Studies: Wood green animal shelter wind turbine; Delabole, the UK's first wind farm: --
Wind: --
Energy and power in the wind --
Wind turbines: --
History of wind energy --
Wind turbines --
Horizontal axis wind turbines --
Vertical axis wind turbines --
Aerodynamics of wind turbines: --
Aerodynamic forces --
Aerofoils --
Relative wind velocity --
How do wind turbines work? --
Horizontal axis wind turbines --
Vertical axis wind turbines --
Power and energy from wind turbines: --
How much power does a wind turbine produce? --
How much energy will wind turbines produce? --
Estimating wind speed characteristics of a site --
Environmental impact: --
Environmental benefits of electricity generations by wind energy --
Environmental impacts of wind turbines --
Planning and wind energy --
Economics: --
Cost calculation --
Capital costs --
Annual charge rate --
Non-fossil fuel obligation and wind energy --
Commercial development and wind energy potential: --
Wind energy developments --
Small-scale wind turbines --
Local community wind turbines --
Wind energy potential --
Recent developments: --
References: --
Further reading: --
Wave Energy: --
Introduction: --
Recent history --
Case Study 1: Tapchan --
Case Study 2: Islay shoreline gully oscillating water column --
Physical principles of wave energy: --
Typical sea state --
Variations in the wave power at any location --
Wave direction --
What happens beneath the surface? --
Moving into shallow water --
Refraction --
Wave energy technology: --
Fixed devices --
Floating devices --
Wave energy research activity around the world --
Resources: --
Economics: --
Environmental impact: --
Integration: --
Wave energy for isolated communities --
Wave energy for large electricity grids --
Future prospects: --
DTI wave energy review --
Conclusion: --
Current state of play: --
References: --
Further reading: --
Geothermal Energy: --
Introduction and summary: --
Case Study: Southampton geothermal district heating scheme: --
Geothermal energy-an overview: --
Mining of geothermal heat --
Earth as a heat engine --
Historical perspective --
Physics of geothermal resources: --
Primary ingredients --
Volcano-related heat sources and fluids --
Heat source in sedimentary basins --
Why are there hot dry rocks? --
Technologies for geothermal resource exploitation: --
Resources in high-pressure steam fields --
Resources for direct use geothermal energy --
Hot dry rock technology --
Environmental implications: --
Economics and world potential: --
Geothermal potential in the United Kingdom: --
Sedimentary basin aquifers --
Hot dry rocks --
Further reading: --
Integration: --
Introduction: --
Existing energy systems: --
How much renewable energy is available?: --
Are renewable energy supplies available where we want them? --
Where do renewables fit in? --
Regional energy studies --
Are renewable energy supplies available when we want them?: --
Renewables as heat suppliers --
Electricity: how the current UK system works --
Integrating renewable electricity --
Renewable transport fuels: the solar hydrogen economy? --
Changing patterns of energy use: --
United Kingdom --
Denmark --
France --
Energy scenarios: Europe: --
Balancing economic options: --
Renewables and conservation --
Balancing economic and environmental considerations --
Promoting renewables: --
EC carbon/energy tax --
UK non-fossil fuel obligation --
Biofuels and agricultural subsidies --
Long-term global renewable energy scenarios: --
World energy council scenarios --
Renewables-intensive global energy strategy --
Shell scenarios --
Greenpeace fossil-free energy scenario --
Conclusion: --
References: --
Further reading: --
Appendix: Cost And Resource Estimating: --
Introduction: --
Costing: --
Introduction --
Theory of discounting --
Interest rates and discount rates --
Inflation --
Basic discounting formulae --
Details of the cost calculation --
Conclusion --
Resource terminology: --
Describing resource size --
Resource-cost curves: --
Variation of resource size with cost --
Constructing resource-cost curves --
Difficulties with comparative resource-cost estimation --
Introduction --
Cost estimating --
Real-world complications --
Other economic indicators --
Sensitivity analyses --
References: --
Further reading --
Acknowledgments: --
Index.

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