Crawley Gerard M - Böcker

This volume focuses on a few renewable energy sources, viz. wind energy plus energy from water movement and natural temperature differences that in principle could provide enormous energy resources. Energy from wind has been a rapidly growing source of energy as wind turbines have grown in size and especially as wind turbines have moved offshore. Hydroelectric dams have continued to be used as energy sources particularly in developing countries. Other energy sources using water, including waves and tidal sources, are also discussed in this volume. Finally, the volume discusses differences between deep and surface ocean temperatures plus the extraction of energy from the earth's extremely large energy resource of magma deep below the surface. These latter two energy resources in particular require further development and the current book describes the latest advances coupled with pointing possible paths forward.

"Anyone wanting to learn quickly about the latest developments in energy storage should read this book. It provides enough technical depth for the reader to understand the advantages and limitations of the various storage methods, and sufficient references to enable the reader to dig more deeply into the technical details."IEEE Journals & MagazinesThe subject of energy storage is extremely important for the increased utilization of renewable energies such as solar and wind energy in times when their sources (e.g. the sun and wind) are unavailable. The ability to store energy can also level out the demand curve for electricity and thus lead to a decrease in the peak requirements of energy production. A storage system for ground transportation is also important as a potential replacement for fossil fuel powered transportation.Energy Storage offers a comprehensive look at the possible approaches to energy storage, which are relevant to various situations; from smoothing demand in electrical energy production, applications of energy storage, to transportation. The book covers a variety of approaches to the storage of energy. Beginning with a discussion of the critical importance of energy storage, the book discusses various possible storage options including hydro storage, compressed air energy storage, and electrical and chemical storage in batteries, capacitors and fuel cells. There is also a chapter on the mechanical storage of energy with flywheels using advanced materials. The various applications to power production and transportation are also included. The expertise and active involvement of the authors of the various chapters ensures that the information is reliable, current, and forward looking.

Competition for energy resources worldwide will almost certainly increase because of population growth and economic expansion, especially in countries such as China and India, with large populations. In addition, environmental concerns with the use of certain energy sources add a complicating factor to decisions about energy use. Therefore there is likely to be an increased commitment around the world to invest in energy systems.The World Scientific Handbook of Energy provides comprehensive, reliable and timely sets of data on energy resources and uses; it gathers in one publication a concise description of the current state-of-the-art for a wide variety of energy resources, including data on resource availability worldwide and at different cost levels. The end use of energy in transportation, residential and industrial areas is outlined, and energy storage, conservation and the impact on the environment included.Experts and key personnel straddling academia and related agencies and industries provide critical data for further exploration and research.Experts in these various areas who provide relevant data for further exploration and research include former Head of the Nuclear Reactors Directorate of the CEA; Director of the Potential Gas Agency, who leads a team of 100 geologists, geophysicists and petroleum engineers; former CEO of an Icelandic engineering company that specializes in the design, construction and operation of “Kalina” binary power plants for geothermal, biomass and industrial waste heat recovery applications; Chairman of the Scottish Hydrogen and Fuel Cells Association; former Director of the Geo-Heat Center at the Oregon Institute of Technology, who received the Patricius Medal from the German Geothermal Association for “his pioneer work in the direct use of geothermal energy”; Division Director of NETL's Strategic Center for Coal, who provides expert guidance and consultation to major DOE-funded clean coal technology and carbon sequestration demonstration projects; an internationally recognized expert in the physics and technology of Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF); former Senior Scientist and Director of the Center for Distributed Generation and Thermal Distribution with Washington State University, who was responsible for state policy, technical assistance to resource developers and investigations related to geothermal energy development; a main author on the 2005 Billion Ton Report and 2011 Billion Ton Update; and many more extremely well published and well known individuals straddling academia and related agencies and industries.

Nuclear energy is important both as a very large energy resource and as a source of carbon free energy. However incidents such as the Fukashima Daiichi nuclear disaster (2011), the Chernobyl disaster (1986), and the Three Mile Island accident (1979) have cast doubts on the future of nuclear fission as a major player in the future energy mix. This volume provides an excellent overview of the current situation regarding nuclear fission as well as a description of the enormous potential advantages offered by nuclear fusion including an essentially unlimited fuel supply with minimal environmental impact.Energy from the Nucleus focuses on the two main approaches to producing energy from the nucleus: fission and fusion. The chapters on nuclear fission cover the status of current and future generations of reactors as well as new safety requirements and the environmental impact of electricity production from nuclear fission. The chapters on nuclear fusion discuss both inertial confinement fusion and magnetic confinement fusion, including the new international fusion test facility, ITER. The expertise of the authors, who are active participants in the respective technologies, ensures that the information provided is both reliable and current. Their views will no doubt enlighten our understanding of the future of energy from the nucleus.

Concerns about energy resources and the environmental impact of energy use will continue to be important globally. World Scientific's unique series of books on Current Energy Issues is intended, in part, as an expansion and update of the material contained in the World Scientific Handbook of Energy. Each volume will focus on related energy resources or issues and will contain a broader range of topics with more explanatory text.This Solar Energy volume covers a variety of approaches to the use of solar energy. These include large scale photovoltaic production of electricity as well as more local applications in the home and businesses. Similarly, there is an extensive discussion of large scale solar thermal electricity production and smaller scale uses such as solar water heating, home heating and cooling plus crop drying. There is also discussion of more forward-looking technologies including the production of fuels using artificial photosynthesis and the production of biomass.