Lecture Notes in Energy – serie

Climate change is mainly caused by emissions of CO2 from burning fossil fuels, which provides over 85% of the world’s energy. Strategies for mitigating climate change are connected with handling economic and social activities through their effects on the use of energy. Climate Change Mitigation investigates the costs of mitigation measures in comparison to their benefits, and compares the effects of implementing mitigation measures on various areas such as energy security and energy economy.“For 20 years, diplomats have struggled to make progress on climate change, mostly because global diplomacy is not well-linked to the realities of how nations and firms control emissions and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. In this excellent book, Dr Yamaguchi has assembled experts to guide the redesign of global policy. The authors underscore how global warming efforts must resonate with other policy goals.” David G. Victor, Director, Laboratory on International Law and Regulation and Professor, University of California San Diego “Climate Change Mitigation clarifies that climate change cannot be controlled by sacrificing economic growth or other global problems; however, action to control climate change cannot be delayed.Climate policy is pervasive and affects all dimensions of international policy;but it cannot be too ambitious: a balanced approach between mitigation and adaptation, economic growth and resource management, and short term development and long term investments, should be adopted. I recommend its reading.” Carlo Carraro,President, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice “The International Energy Agency estimates for every $1 of investment now toward sustainable energy, $4 of future spending can be saved. There is a business case for companies to reduce energy use. Companies in the energy and resource intensive industries must lead the way.” Chad Holliday, Chairman. World Business Councilfor Sustainable Development and former Chair and CEO, DuPont

Hundreds of studies have investigated public perceptions and preferences about nuclear power, waste management, and technology. However there is clear lack of uniformity in the style, aims and methods applied.  Consequently, the body of results is inconsistent and it is difficult to isolate relevant patterns or interpretations. Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust presents a theoretical base for public reactions then classifies and reviews the large body of surveys carried out over the past decade. Particular focus is placed on residents within 50 miles US nuclear waste facilities due to the disproportionate presence of nuclear factors in their lives such as the legacy of nuclear waste disposal and job dependency. The motivations and reasons for their views such as fear, attraction to the economic benefits, trust of site managers and federal agencies, cultural views, personal history, and demographic attributes of the people are also considered to provide a balanced and detailed overview. Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust includes a comprehensive treatment of the theories and literature, and most important is grounded in surveys in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 which includes questions considering the impact of Fukushima on US public opinion. By including real life data alongside the analysis, Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power, and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust provides a relevant and concise reference for nuclear industry professionals. It also acts a resource for students and researchers studying nuclear-related topics including political, social and environmental factors. Particular focus is placed on residents within 50 miles US nuclear waste facilities due to the disproportionate presence of nuclear factors in their lives such as the legacy of nuclear waste disposal and job dependency. The motivations and reasons for their views such as fear, attraction to the economic benefits, trust of site managers and federal agencies, cultural views, personal history, and demographic attributes of the people are also considered to provide a balanced and detailed overview. Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust includes a comprehensive treatment of the theories and literature, and most important is grounded in surveys in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 which includes questions considering the impact of Fukushima on US public opinion. By including real life data alongside the analysis, Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power, and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust provides a relevant and concise reference for nuclear industry professionals. It also acts a resource for students and researchers studying nuclear-related topics including political, social and environmental factors.Particular focus is placed on residents within 50 miles US nuclear waste facilities due to the disproportionate presence of nuclear factors in their lives such as the legacy of nuclear waste disposal and job dependency. The motivations and reasons for their views such as fear, attraction to the economic benefits, trust of site managers and federal agencies, cultural views, personal history, and demographic attributes of the people are also considered to provide a balanced and detailed overview. Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power and Energy Choices: PublicPreferences, Perceptions and Trust includes a comprehensive treatment of the theories and literature, and most important is grounded in surveys in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 which includes questions considering the impact of Fukushima on US public opinion. By including real life data alongside the analysis, Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power, and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust provides a relevant and concise reference for nuclear industry professionals. It also acts a resource for students and researchers studying nuclear-related topics including political, social and environmental factors. By including real life data alongside the analysis, Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power, and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust provides a relevant and concise reference for nuclear industry professionals. It also acts a resource for students and researchers studying nuclear-related topics including political, social and environmental factors.By including real life data alongside the analysis, Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power, and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust provides a relevant and concise reference for nuclear industry professionals. It also acts a resource for students and researchers studying nuclear-related topics including political, social and environmental factors.

Providing up-to-date numerical data across a range of topics related to renewable energy technologies, Renewable Energies and CO2 offers a one-stop source of key information to engineers, economists and all other professionals working in the energy and climate change sectors.

Reactive Power Management of Power Networks with Wind Generation brings into focus the development and application of advanced optimization techniques to the study, characterization, and assessment of voltage stability in power systems.

Pollution Under Environmental Regulation in Energy Markets provides a study of environmental regulation when energy markets are imperfectly competitive.

This book presents a systematic and comprehensive overview of financial transmission rights (FTRS) from the perspectives of various countries.

Electrocatalysis in Fuel Cells: A Non and Low Platinum Approach is a comprehensive book summarizing recent advances of electrocatalysis in oxygen reduction and alcohol oxidation, with a particular focus on non- and low-Pt electrocatalysts.

Intelligent Energy Demand Forecasting offers approaches and methods to calculate optimal electric energy allocation to reach equilibrium of the supply and demand. Evolutionary algorithms and intelligent analytical tools to improve energy demand forecasting accuracy are explored and explained in relation to existing methods.

With the growing attention to the exploitation of renewable energies and heat recovery from industrial processes, the traditional steam and gas cycles are showing themselves often inadequate. The inadequacy is due to the great assortment of the required sizes power and of the large kind of heat sources. Closed Power Cycles: Thermodynamic Fundamentals and Applications offers an organized discussion about the strong interaction between working fluids, the thermodynamic behavior of the cycle using them and the technological design aspects of the machines. A precise treatment of thermal engines operating in accordance with closed cycles is provided to develop ideas and discussions strictly founded on the basic thermodynamic facts that control the closed cycles operation and design. Closed Power Cycles: Thermodynamic Fundamentals and Applications also contains  numerous examples which have been carried out with the help of the Aspen Plus®R program.Including chapters on binary cycles, the organic Rankine cycle and real closed gas cycles, Closed Power Cycles: Thermodynamic Fundamentals and Applications acts a solid introduction and reference for post-graduate students and researchers working in applied thermodynamics and energy conversion with thermodynamic engines.

Jackups, semisubmersibles and drillships are the marine vessels used to drill offshore wells and are referred to collectively as mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs). MODUs are supplied through newbuild construction and operate throughout the world in highly competitive regional markets. The Offshore Drilling Industry and Rig Construction Market in the Gulf of Mexico examines the global MODU service and construction industry and describes the economic impacts of rig construction in the United States. The industrial organization and major players in the contract drilling and construction markets are described and categorized. Dayrates in the contract drilling market are evaluated and hypotheses regarding dayrate factors are tested. Models of contractor decision-making are developed, including a net-present value model of newbuilding investment and stacking decisions, and market capitalization models are derived. Jackup construction shipyards and processes are reviewed along with estimates of labor, equipment, and material cost in U.S. construction. Derivation of newbuild and replacement cost functions completes the treatise.  The comprehensive and authoritative coverage of The Offshore Drilling Industry and Rig Construction Market in the Gulf of Mexico makes it an ideal reference for engineers, industry professionals, policy analysts, government regulators, academics and other readers wanting to learn more about this important and fascinating industry.

Despite efforts to increase renewables, the global energy mix is still likely to be dominated by fossil-fuels in the foreseeable future, particularly gas for electricity and oil for land, air and sea transport. The reliance on depleting conventional oil and natural gas resources  and the geographic distribution of these reserves can have geopolitical implications for energy importers and exporters.Global Energy Policy and Security examines the security of global and national energy supplies, as well as the sensitivity and impacts of sustainable energy policies which emphasize the various political, economic, technological, financial and social factors that influence energy supply, demand and security. Multidisciplinary perspectives provide the interrelated topics of energy security and energy policy within a rapidly changing socio-political and technological landscape during the 21st century.Included are two main types of interdisciplinary papers. One set of papers deals with technical aspects of energy efficiency, renewable energy and the use of tariffs. The other set of papers focuses on social, economic or political issues related to energy security and policy, also describing research, practical projects and other concrete initiatives being performed in different parts of the world. This book will prove useful to all those students and researchers interested in the connections between energy production, energy use, energy security and the role of energy policies.

With a focus on ecology, economy and engine performance, diesel engines are explored in relation to current research and developments. The prevalent trends in this development are outlined with particular focus on  the most frequently used alternative fuels in diesel engines; the properties of various type of biodiesel and the concurrent improvement of diesel engine characteristics using numeric optimization alongside current investigation and research work in the field.Following of a short overview of engine control, aftertreatment and alternative fuels, Green Diesel Engine explores the effects of biodiesel usage on injection, fuel spray, combustion, and tribology characteristics, and engine performance. Additionally, optimization procedures of diesel engine characteristics are discussed using practical examples and each topic is corroborated and supported by current research and detailed illustrations.This thorough discussion provides a solid foundation in the current research but also a starting point for fresh ideas for engineers involved in developing/adjusting diesel engines for usage of alternative fuels, researchers in renewable energy, as well as to engineers, advanced undergraduates, and postgraduates.

This book addresses the core issues involved in the dynamic modeling, simulation and control of a selection of energy systems such as gas turbines, wind turbines, fuel cells and batteries. The principles of modeling and control could be applied to other non-convention methods of energy generation such as solar energy and wave energy.A central feature of Dynamic Modeling, Simulation and Control of Energy Generation is that it brings together diverse topics in thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, heat transfer, electro-chemistry, electrical networks and electrical machines and focuses on their applications in the field of energy generation, its control and regulation. This book will help the reader understand the methods of modelling energy systems for controller design application as well as gain a basic understanding of the processes involved in the design of control systems and regulators. It will also be a useful guide to simulation of the dynamics of energy systems andfor implementing monitoring systems based on the estimation of internal system variables from measurements of observable system variables.Dynamic Modeling, Simulation and Control of Energy Generation will serve as a useful aid to designers of hybrid power generating systems involving advanced technology systems such as floating or offshore wind turbines and fuel cells. The book introduces case studies of the practical control laws for a variety of energy generation systems based on nonlinear dynamic models without relying on linearization. Also the book introduces the reader to the use nonlinear model based estimation techniques and their application to energy systems.

These technologies include: • magnet systems, • plasma heating systems, • control systems, • energy conversion systems, • advanced materials development, • vacuum systems, • cryogenic systems, • plasma diagnostics, • safety systems, and • power plant design studies.

This book aims to provide a rigorous yet pragmatic approach to the valuation and management of investments in the energy sector. Time and uncertainty pervade most if not all issues relevant to energy assets. They run from the early stage of prototype and demonstration to the ultimate abandonment and decommissioning. Risk in particular appears in several areas; thus, one can distinguish technical risk from financial risk. Furthermore, the extent to which one can react to them is different (just think of price risk and regulation risk). Markets in general, and financial markets in particular, regularly put a price on a number of assets which differ in their return/risk characteristics. And academia has developed sound financial principles for valuation purposes in a number of contexts. Nonetheless, the physical characteristics of the assets involved also play a key role in their valuation if only because of the restrictions that they entail.There are some instances in which the practitioner/researcher is able to come up with an analytical solution to the valuation problem. Typically, however, these instances are limited because of their relying on stylized facts or idealized frameworks. Unfortunately, many relevant instances lack analytical solutions, so one must resort to numerical methods. The book clearly explains how to implement them in a meaningful way. Their usefulness is further enhanced when numerical estimates of relevant parameters are derived from actual market prices (as long as these are available and reliable).The book starts from the basics of valuation in a dynamic, certain context. The second part then considers uncertainty and introduces a number of useful results and tools to grapple effectively with it. The last part applies these tools to the valuation of energy assets in a sequential manner, i.e. by considering one, two and three sources of risk. The last chapter provides examples of joint optimal management and value maximization in conventional power plants.

This book focuses on Renewable Energy (RE) governance - the institutions, plans, policies and stakeholders that are involved in RE implementation - and the complexities and challenges associated with this much discussed energy area. Whilst RE technologies have advanced and become cheaper, governance schemes rarely support those technologies in an efficient and cost-effective way. To illustrate the problem, global case-studies delicately demonstrate successes and failures of renewable energy governance. RE here is considered from a number of perspectives: as a regional geopolitical agent, as a tool to meet national RE targets and as a promoter of local development. The book considers daring insights on RE transitions, governmental policies as well as financial tools, such as Feed-in-Tariffs; along with their inefficiencies and costs. This comprehensive probing of RE concludes with a treatment of what we call the “Mega-What” question - who is benefitting the most from RE and how society can get the best deal?After reading this book, the reader will have been in contact with all aspects of RE governance and be closer to the pulse of RE mechanisms. The reader should also be able to contribute more critically to the dialogue about RE rather than just reinforce the well-worn adage that “RE is a good thing to happen”.

This book examines the global mobile offshore drilling units service and construction industry and describes the economic impacts of construction in the US, with an emphasis on dayrates in the service market and capital expenditures in the newbuild market.

Climate change is mainly caused by emissions of CO2 from burning fossil fuels, which provides over 85% of the world’s energy. Strategies for mitigating climate change are connected with handling economic and social activities through their effects on the use of energy. Climate Change Mitigation investigates the costs of mitigation measures in comparison to their benefits, and compares the effects of implementing mitigation measures on various areas such as energy security and energy economy.“For 20 years, diplomats have struggled to make progress on climate change, mostly because global diplomacy is not well-linked to the realities of how nations and firms control emissions and adapt to the impacts of a changing climate. In this excellent book, Dr Yamaguchi has assembled experts to guide the redesign of global policy. The authors underscore how global warming efforts must resonate with other policy goals.” David G. Victor, Director, Laboratory on International Law and Regulation and Professor, University of California San Diego “Climate Change Mitigation clarifies that climate change cannot be controlled by sacrificing economic growth or other global problems; however, action to control climate change cannot be delayed.Climate policy is pervasive and affects all dimensions of international policy;but it cannot be too ambitious: a balanced approach between mitigation and adaptation, economic growth and resource management, and short term development and long term investments, should be adopted. I recommend its reading.” Carlo Carraro,President, Ca’ Foscari University of Venice “The International Energy Agency estimates for every $1 of investment now toward sustainable energy, $4 of future spending can be saved. There is a business case for companies to reduce energy use. Companies in the energy and resource intensive industries must lead the way.” Chad Holliday, Chairman. World Business Councilfor Sustainable Development and former Chair and CEO, DuPont

As industrial, commercial, and residential demands increase and with the rise of privatization and deregulation of the electric energy industry around the world, it is necessary to improve the performance of electric operational management. Intelligent Energy Demand Forecasting offers approaches and methods to calculate optimal electric energy allocation to reach equilibrium of the supply and demand. Evolutionary algorithms and intelligent analytical tools to improve energy demand forecasting accuracy are explored and explained in relation to existing methods. To provide clearer picture of how these hybridized evolutionary algorithms and intelligent analytical tools are processed, Intelligent Energy Demand Forecasting emphasizes on improving the drawbacks of existing algorithms.  Written for researchers, postgraduates, and lecturers, Intelligent Energy Demand Forecasting helps to develop the skills and methods to provide more accurate energy demand forecasting by employing novel hybridized evolutionary algorithms and intelligent analytical tools.

As the energy sector shifts and changes to focus on renewable technologies, the optimization of wind power becomes a key practical issue. Reactive Power Management of Power Networks with Wind Generation brings into focus the development and application of advanced optimization techniques to the study, characterization, and assessment of voltage stability in power systems. Recent advances on reactive power management are reviewed with particular emphasis on the analysis and control of wind energy conversion systems and FACTS devices. Following an introduction, distinct chapters cover the 5 key areas of FACTS devices, voltage stability, wind generators, reactive power optimization and management. These are supported with applications and example including real-life data from the Spanish Power system. Together with power system engineers, operators and planners will also benefit from this insightful resource. Reactive Power Management of Power Networks with Wind Generation provides a key reference to advanced undergraduate and graduate students in electrical and power engineering.

With the growing attention to the exploitation of renewable energies and heat recovery from industrial processes, the traditional steam and gas cycles are showing themselves often inadequate. The inadequacy is due to the great assortment of the required sizes power and of the large kind of heat sources. Closed Power Cycles: Thermodynamic Fundamentals and Applications offers an organized discussion about the strong interaction between working fluids, the thermodynamic behavior of the cycle using them and the technological design aspects of the machines. A precise treatment of thermal engines operating in accordance with closed cycles is provided to develop ideas and discussions strictly founded on the basic thermodynamic facts that control the closed cycles operation and design. Closed Power Cycles: Thermodynamic Fundamentals and Applications also contains  numerous examples which have been carried out with the help of the Aspen Plus®R program.Including chapters on binary cycles, the organic Rankine cycle and real closed gas cycles, Closed Power Cycles: Thermodynamic Fundamentals and Applications acts a solid introduction and reference for post-graduate students and researchers working in applied thermodynamics and energy conversion with thermodynamic engines.

Whilst financial rights have appeared as a successful ingredient in North-American power markets, they have their shortcomings both theoretically and in practice. Financial Transmission Rights: Analysis, Experiences and Prospects present a systematic and comprehensive overview of financial transmission rights (FTRS).Following a general introduction to FTRs, including chapters to explain transmission pricing and the general properties of FTRS, experts in the field provide discussions on wide scope of topics. These include:Varying perspectives on FTRS: from electrical engineers to economists,Different mathematical formulations of FTRSFinancial Hedging using FTRS, andAlternative solutions to FTRs The detail, expertise and range of content makes Financial Transmission Rights: Analysis, Experiences and Prospect  an essential resource for electricity market specialists both at academic and professional levels.“This is THE BOOK we were all expecting to address all key ‘Financial Transmission Rights’ issues. It is comprehensive and reader friendly. You can pick at will in its menu: more or less theory, a bit of maths or none, empirical review of real cases or numerical simulations of many feasible options. Big names rally there to delight you like: Hogan , Oren, Perez-Arriaga, Smeers, Hobbs and… Rosellón. More than a must read: a light house, a map and a survival kit.”Jean – Michel Glachant, Director Florence School, Holder Loyola de Palacio Chair, Chief-editor Economics of Energy & Environmental Policy."In the last two decades, economists have developed a better understanding of the impact of financial rights on risk management, market power and network expansion in electricity markets, while power systems have experimented with such rights. Striking a good balance between academics and practitioners, always at the frontier of the field, written bythe best experts, this volume is essential reading for all those- power systems’ managers and users, regulators, students and researchers- who want to understand the new electricity environment and predict its evolution."Jean Tirole, Toulouse School of Economics and Institute for Industrial Economics (IDEI)Further comments inside.

Pollution Under Environmental Regulation in Energy Markets provides a study of environmental regulation when energy markets are imperfectly competitive. This theoretical treatment focuses on three relevant cases of energy markets. First, the residential space heating sector where hybrid regulation such as taxation and emissions trading together are possible. Second, the electricity market where transactions are organized in the form of multi-period auctions. Third, namely natural gas (input) and electricity (output) markets where there is combined imperfect competition in vertical related energy markets.  The development of free or low carbon technologies supported by energy policies, aiming at increasing security of supply, is also explored whilst considering competition policies that reduce market power in energy markets thus improving market efficiency. Pollution Under Environmental Regulation in Energy Markets discusses the key issues of whether imperfect competition can lessen the ability of environmental policy to reduce pollution and/or to minimize the cost of meeting environmental targets.  Policymakers, analysts and researchers gain a thorough understanding of the performance of environmental policy from Pollution Under Environmental Regulation in Energy Markets leading to better design of simulation models of performance and costs of environmental regulation.

Hundreds of studies have investigated public perceptions and preferences about nuclear power, waste management, and technology. However there is clear lack of uniformity in the style, aims and methods applied.  Consequently, the body of results is inconsistent and it is difficult to isolate relevant patterns or interpretations. Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust presents a theoretical base for public reactions then classifies and reviews the large body of surveys carried out over the past decade. Particular focus is placed on residents within 50 miles US nuclear waste facilities due to the disproportionate presence of nuclear factors in their lives such as the legacy of nuclear waste disposal and job dependency. The motivations and reasons for their views such as fear, attraction to the economic benefits, trust of site managers and federal agencies, cultural views, personal history, and demographic attributes of the people are also considered to provide a balanced and detailed overview. Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust includes a comprehensive treatment of the theories and literature, and most important is grounded in surveys in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 which includes questions considering the impact of Fukushima on US public opinion. By including real life data alongside the analysis, Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power, and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust provides a relevant and concise reference for nuclear industry professionals. It also acts a resource for students and researchers studying nuclear-related topics including political, social and environmental factors. Particular focus is placed on residents within 50 miles US nuclear waste facilities due to the disproportionate presence of nuclear factors in their lives such as the legacy of nuclear waste disposal and job dependency. The motivations and reasons for their views such as fear, attraction to the economic benefits, trust of site managers and federal agencies, cultural views, personal history, and demographic attributes of the people are also considered to provide a balanced and detailed overview. Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust includes a comprehensive treatment of the theories and literature, and most important is grounded in surveys in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 which includes questions considering the impact of Fukushima on US public opinion. By including real life data alongside the analysis, Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power, and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust provides a relevant and concise reference for nuclear industry professionals. It also acts a resource for students and researchers studying nuclear-related topics including political, social and environmental factors.Particular focus is placed on residents within 50 miles US nuclear waste facilities due to the disproportionate presence of nuclear factors in their lives such as the legacy of nuclear waste disposal and job dependency. The motivations and reasons for their views such as fear, attraction to the economic benefits, trust of site managers and federal agencies, cultural views, personal history, and demographic attributes of the people are also considered to provide a balanced and detailed overview. Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power and Energy Choices: PublicPreferences, Perceptions and Trust includes a comprehensive treatment of the theories and literature, and most important is grounded in surveys in 2005, 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011 which includes questions considering the impact of Fukushima on US public opinion. By including real life data alongside the analysis, Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power, and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust provides a relevant and concise reference for nuclear industry professionals. It also acts a resource for students and researchers studying nuclear-related topics including political, social and environmental factors. By including real life data alongside the analysis, Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power, and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust provides a relevant and concise reference for nuclear industry professionals. It also acts a resource for students and researchers studying nuclear-related topics including political, social and environmental factors.By including real life data alongside the analysis, Nuclear Waste Management, Nuclear Power, and Energy Choices: Public Preferences, Perceptions and Trust provides a relevant and concise reference for nuclear industry professionals. It also acts a resource for students and researchers studying nuclear-related topics including political, social and environmental factors.

Bioenergy is coming to be seen as a priority on the international agenda, with the use of liquid biofuels a key strategy in the attempt to meet both the demand for environmental sustainability and the energy needs of countries. The growth in the production and use of biofuels around the world has led to increased interest and discussion about this subject. Given the dynamics of this phenomenon, the organizers of this book, based on more than 10 years experience of joint research on this subject, seek to address key issues relating to the production and marketing of liquid biofuels using the Brazilian experience with ethanol and biodiesel as an illustrative case, as well as the experiences of the leading producers and consumers of biofuels. The topics to be covered in this book include the role of public policies in fostering the emergence of the biofuels industry, the main socio-economic, environmental, technological aspects and the prospects for the sector. The conceptual and methodological bases that provide analytical support to the book are based on recent research published in indexed journals. The structure and content of the book seek to address some central issues regarding: How the biofuel industries have emerged and developed in different countries? What factors have been crucial to the success or failure of different production initiatives? What are the main socio-economic-environmental impacts of the production and consumption of liquid biofuels? How are national and international markets for liquid biofuels being structured? To what extent and/or in what conditions can the experiences and lessons learned at the national level be transferred and adapted in other countries? Finally, based on the scenarios, the prospects for liquid biofuels will be discussed.

The book adopts an innovative analytical approach to agenda setting by not only presenting successful cases in which energy issues were addressed by means of public policy, but by also analyzing failed attempts to make issues part of the European policy agenda. Another outstanding feature of the book is its use of the latest empirical data on a broad range of energy issues.When are energy issues likely to find their way to the agenda of European policymakers? This is the key research question guiding this collection of empirical studies, which will shed light on both successful and unsuccessful attempts to include energy issues in the European agenda. The multi-level political system of the European Union represents a particularly fruitful setting for addressing this question due to the multiple institutional access points it provides for different groups of actors. The book has three key benefits. First, it provides a theory-informed analysis of agenda setting processes in general and in the European Union in particular. Second, it presents an overview of the most important and emerging dimensions on European energy policy, and third, it helps to develop a research agenda for future research in the field.

Magnetic Fusion Technology describes the technologies that are required for successful development of nuclear fusion power plants using strong magnetic fields. These technologies include: • magnet systems, • plasma heating systems, • control systems, • energy conversion systems, • advanced materials development, • vacuum systems, • cryogenic systems, • plasma diagnostics, • safety systems, and • power plant design studies. Magnetic Fusion Technology will be useful to students and to specialists working in energy research.

This book explores the effects of biodiesel usage on injection, fuel spray, combustion, and tribology characteristics, and engine performance. It also details optimization procedures of diesel engine characteristics using practical examples.

Fuel cells are one of the most promising clean energy conversion devices that can solve the environmental and energy problems in our society. However, the high platinum loading of fuel cells - and thus their high cost - prevents their commercialization.  Non- or low- platinum electrocatalysts are needed to lower the fuel cell cost. Electrocatalysis in Fuel Cells: A Non and Low Platinum Approach is a comprehensive book summarizing recent advances of electrocatalysis in oxygen reduction and alcohol oxidation, with a particular focus on non- and low-Pt electrocatalysts.  All twenty four chapters were written by worldwide experts in their fields. The fundamentals and applications of novel electrocatalysts are discussed thoroughly in the book. The book is geared toward researchers in the field, postgraduate students and lecturers, and scientists and engineers at fuel cell and automotive companies.  It can even be a reference book for those who are interested in this area.