Overview

This dazzling introductory textbook encompasses the full range of today's important renewable energy technologies. Solar thermal, photovoltaic, wind, hydro, biomass and geothermal energy receive balanced treatment with one exciting and informative chapter devoted to each. As well as a complete overview of these state-of-the-art technologies, the chapters provide: clear analysis on their development potentials; an evaluation of the economic aspects involved; concrete guidance for practical implementation; how to reduce your own energy waste. If we do not act now to stop climate change, the consequences will be catastrophic. The current world situation is demonstrated here with the aid of full-colour figures and photographs, data diagrams and simple calculations and results. A multiplicity of impressive examples from countries across the globe show international ‘alternative’ energy in action. With its easy-to-read approach, this is an essential textbook for students on renewable energy courses, also environment and sustainability courses. Planners, operators, financers and consultants will find this an excellent manual for planning and realizing climate protection. Furthermore, this book makes great background reading for energy workers, designers, politicians and journalists, and anyone who is interested in the topic of climate change. Looking for further study? Visit the complimentary website; it hosts many useful related internet sites: www.wiley.com/go/quaschning_renewable

Full Product Details

Author:   Volker V. Quaschning (Berlin University of Applied Sciences)
Publisher:   John Wiley & Sons Inc
Imprint:   Wiley-IEEE Press
Dimensions:   Width: 17.50cm , Height: 1.90cm , Length: 25.20cm
Weight:   0.748kg
ISBN:  

9780470747070

ISBN 10:   0470747072
Pages:   320
Publication Date:   26 February 2010
Audience:   College/higher education ,  Undergraduate ,  Postgraduate, Research & Scholarly
Replaced By:   9781119514862
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Out of Print
Availability:   Awaiting stock  

Table of Contents

Preface xi 1 Our Hunger for Energy 1 1.1 Energy Supply – Yesterday and Today 2 1.1.1 From the French Revolution to the Early 20th Century 2 1.1.2 The Era of Black Gold 4 1.1.3 Natural Gas – the Newest Fossil Energy Source 7 1.1.4 Nuclear Power – Split Energy 9 1.1.5 The Century of Fossil Energy 12 1.2 Energy Needs – Who Needs What, Where and How Much? 13 1.3 ‘Anyway’ Energy 16 1.4 Energy Supplies – Wealth Forever 19 1.5 The End of Fission 21 1.6 Oil Prices Today – Politics, Supply and Demand 22 2 The Climate Before the Collapse? 24 2.1 It Is Getting Warm – Climate Changes Today 24 2.1.1 The Ice is Slowly Melting 24 2.1.2 Natural Catastrophes Occur More Frequently 26 2.2 The Guilty Parties – Causes of Climate Change 29 2.2.1 The Greenhouse Effect 29 2.2.2 The Prime Suspect: Carbon Dioxide 30 2.2.3 Other Culprits 34 2.3 Outlook and Recommendations – What Lies Ahead? 37 2.3.1 Will It be Bitterly Cold in Europe? 39 2.3.2 Recommendations for Effective Climate Protection 42 2.4 Diffi cult Birth – Politics and Climate Change 42 2.4.1 German Climate Policy 42 2.4.2 International Climate Policy 44 2.5 Self-Help Climate Protection 46 3 From Wasting Energy to Saving Energy and Reducing Carbon Dioxide 47 3.1 Less Effi cient – Energy Use and Waste Today 47 3.2 Personal Energy Needs – Easily Saved at Home 50 3.2.1 Domestic Electricity – Money Wasted 50 3.2.2 Heat – Surviving the Winter with Almost No Heating 54 3.2.3 Transport – Getting Somewhere Using Less Energy 58 3.3 Industry and Co – Everyone Else is to Blame 61 3.4 The Personal Carbon Dioxide Record 62 3.4.1 Emissions Caused Directly by One’s Own Activities 62 3.4.2 Indirectly Caused Emissions 63 3.4.3 Total Emissions 65 3.5 The Sale of Ecological Indulgences 67 4 Carbon-Free Energy – Vision or Utopia? 70 4.1 Options for Carbon-Free Energy Supply 70 4.1.1 Effi cient Power Plants – More Power with Less Carbon Dioxide 70 4.1.2 Carbon Dioxide Sequestering – Away with Carbon Dioxide 72 4.1.3 Nuclear Energy – Squeaky Clean 74 4.1.4 Combined Heat and Power – Using Fuel Twice 75 4.1.5 Saving Energy – Achieving More with Less 76 4.2 Renewable Energy Sources – No End to What is Available 77 4.3 Options for Protecting the Climate 79 4.3.1 Down with Primary Energy Needs 79 4.3.2 Electricity Generation Totally Without Nuclear and Fossil Power Plants 81 4.3.3 Insulation and Renewable Energies to Provide Heat 82 4.3.4 Increasing Effi ciency and New Concepts for Traffic 83 4.4 Reliable Supply Using Renewable Energies 84 5 Photovoltaics – Energy from Sand 87 5.1 Structure and Function 88 5.1.1 Electrons, Holes and Space-Charge Regions 88 5.1.2 Effi ciency, Characteristics and MPP 90 5.2 Production of Solar Cells – from Sand to Cell 92 5.2.1 Silicon Solar Cells – Electricity from Sand 92 5.2.2 From Cell to Module 94 5.2.3 Thin Film Solar Cells 95 5.3 Photovoltaic Systems – Networks and Islands 96 5.3.1 Sun Islands 96 5.3.2 Sun in the Grid 99 5.4 Planning and Design 103 5.4.1 Planned on the Grid 103 5.4.2 Planned Islands 107 5.5 Economics 109 5.5.1 What Does It Cost? 109 5.5.2 Incentive Schemes 111 5.6 Ecology 112 5.7 Photovoltaic Markets 113 5.8 Outlook and Development Potential 114 6 Solar Thermal Systems – Year-Round Heating from the Sun 116 6.1 Structure and Functionality 118 6.2 Solar Collectors – Collecting the Sun 120 6.2.1 Swimming Pool Absorbers 120 6.2.2 Flat-Plate Collectors 121 6.2.3 Air-Based Collectors 122 6.2.4 Vacuum-Tube Collectors 123 6.3 Solar Thermal Systems 125 6.3.1 Hot Water from the Sun 125 6.3.2 Heating with the Sun 128 6.3.3 Solar Communities 130 6.3.4 Cooling with the Sun 130 6.3.5 Swimming with the Sun 131 6.3.6 Cooking with the Sun 133 6.4 Planning and Design 133 6.4.1 Solar Thermal Heating of Domestic Hot Water 134 6.4.2 Solar Thermal Heating as Support Heating 136 6.5 Economics 138 6.6 Ecology 139 6.7 Solar Thermal Markets 140 6.8 Outlook and Development Potential 142 7 Solar Power Plants – Even More Energy from the Sun 144 7.1 Concentration on the Sun 145 7.2 Solar Power Plants 147 7.2.1 Parabolic Trough Power Plants 147 7.2.2 Solar Tower Power Plants 150 7.2.3 Dish-Stirling Power Plants 153 7.2.4 Solar Chimney Power Plants 153 7.2.5 Concentrating Photovoltaic Power Plants 155 7.2.6 Solar Chemistry 155 7.3 Planning and Design 156 7.3.1 Concentrating Solar Thermal Power Plants 157 7.3.2 Solar Chimney Power Plants 158 7.3.3 Concentrating Photovoltaic Power Plants 158 7.4 Economics 158 7.5 Ecology 160 7.6 Solar Power Plant Markets 161 7.7 Outlook and Development Potential 162 8 Wind Power Systems – Electricity from Thin Air 165 8.1 Gone with the Wind – Where the Wind Comes From 166 8.2 Utilizing Wind 168 8.3 Installations and Parks 173 8.3.1 Wind Chargers 173 8.3.2 Grid-Connected Wind Turbines 174 8.3.3 Wind Farms 178 8.3.4 Offshore Wind Farms 179 8.4 Planning and Design 182 8.5 Economics 184 8.6 Ecology 187 8.7 Wind Power Markets 188 8.8 Outlook and Development Potential 189 9 Hydropower Plants – Wet Energy 191 9.1 Tapping into the Water Cycle 192 9.2 Water Turbines 194 9.3 Hydropower Plants 197 9.3.1 Run-of-River Power Plants 197 9.3.2 Storage Power Plants 198 9.3.3 Pumped-Storage Power Plants 200 9.3.4 Tidal Power Plants 201 9.3.5 Wave Power Plants 202 9.3.6 Ocean Current Power Plants 203 9.4 Planning and Design 204 9.5 Economics 206 9.6 Ecology 206 9.7 Hydropower Markets 207 9.8 Outlook and Development Potential 209 10 Geothermal Energy – Power from the Deep 210 10.1 Tapping into the Earth’s Heat 210 10.2 Geothermal Heat and Power Plants 215 10.2.1 Geothermal Heat Plants 215 10.2.2 Geothermal Power Plants 216 10.2.3 Geothermal HDR Power Plants 218 10.3 Planning and Design 219 10.4 Economics 220 10.5 Ecology 220 10.6 Geothermal Markets 221 10.7 Outlook and Development Potential 222 11 Heat Pumps – from Cold to Hot 223 11.1 Heat Sources for Low-Temperature Heat 223 11.2 Working Principle of Heat Pumps 226 11.2.1 Compression Heat Pumps 226 11.2.2 Absorption Heat Pumps and Adsorption Heat Pumps 227 11.3 Planning and Design 228 11.4 Economics 232 11.5 Ecology 233 11.6 Heat Pump Markets 235 11.7 Outlook and Development Potential 236 12 Biomass – Energy from Nature 237 12.1 Origins and Use of Biomass 238 12.2 Biomass Heating 241 12.2.1 Wood as a Fuel 241 12.2.2 Fireplaces and Closed Woodburning Stoves 245 12.2.3 Firewood Boilers 245 12.2.4 Wood Pellet Heating 246 12.3 Biomass Heat and Power Plants 248 12.4 Biofuels 250 12.4.1 Bio-oil 251 12.4.2 Biodiesel 251 12.4.3 Bioethanol 252 12.4.4 BtL Fuels 253 12.4.5 Biogas 254 12.5 Planning and Design 255 12.5.1 Firewood Boilers 256 12.5.2 Wood Pellet Heating 256 12.6 Economics 259 12.7 Ecology 260 12.7.1 Solid Fuels 260 12.7.2 Biofuels 262 12.8 Biomass Markets 263 12.9 Outlook and Development Potential 264 13 The Hydrogen Industry and Fuel Cells 265 13.1 Hydrogen as an Energy Source 266 13.1.1 Production of Hydrogen 267 13.1.2 Storage and Transport of Hydrogen 269 13.2 Fuel Cells: Bearers of Hope 270 13.3 Economics 272 13.4 Ecology 273 13.5 Markets, Outlook and Development Potential 274 14 Sunny Prospects – Examples of Sustainable Energy Supply 276 14.1 Climate-Compatible Living 276 14.1.1 Carbon-Neutral Standard Prefabricated Houses 277 14.1.2 Plus-Energy Solar House 278 14.1.3 Plus-Energy Housing Estate 279 14.1.4 Heating Only with the Sun 279 14.1.5 Zero Heating Costs after Redevelopment 280 14.2 Working and Producing in Compatibility with the Climate 281 14.2.1 Offi ces and Shops in Solar Ship 281 14.2.2 Zero-Emissions Factory 282 14.2.3 Carbon-Free Heavy Equipment Factory 283 14.3 Climate-Compatible Driving 284 14.3.1 Waste Gas-Free Electropower 284 14.3.2 Travelling around the World in a Solar Mobile 285 14.3.3 Across Australia in Thirty-Three Hours 286 14.3.4 Game over CO2! 287 14.4 Climate-Compatible Travel by Water or Air 288 14.4.1 Modern Shipping 288 14.4.2 Solar Ferry on Lake Constance 289 14.4.3 World Altitude Record with a Solar Aeroplane 290 14.4.4 Flying around the World in a Solar Plane 291 14.4.5 Flying for Solar Kitchens 292 14.5 Carbon-Free Electricity for an Island 293 14.6 All’s Well that Ends Well 294 Appendix 296 A.1 Energy Units and Prefixes 296 A.2 Geographic Coordinates of Energy Power Plants 297 References 300 Index 303

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Author Information

Professor Volker Quaschning has been a full professor in renewable energy systems at the Berlin University of Applied Sciences since 2004. He has had more than fifteen years experience in the renewable energy sector. He is currently Area Head of Systems Analysis at Plataforma Solar de Almería, a research centre for solar technologies developed in collaboration between CIEMAT (public research institute linked with the Spanish government) and DLR (German aerospace centre). Professor Quaschning has had more than 100 publications in the renewable energy field, including six textbooks; four in German, one in English and one in Arab.

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