Electricity from Renewable Resources

Electricity from Renewable Resources
Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2010-04-05
Genre: Science
ISBN: 030913708X

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.

Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2020

Renewable Energy and Jobs – Annual Review 2020
Author: International Renewable Energy Agency IRENA
Publisher: International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2019-06-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9292602667

The sixth edition of the series highlights employment trends in renewables worldwide, noting increasing diversification of the supply chain.

Applications of Simulation Methods in Environmental and Resource Economics

Applications of Simulation Methods in Environmental and Resource Economics
Author: Riccardo Scarpa
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 456
Release: 2005-08-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781402036835

Simulation methods are revolutionizing the practice of applied economic analysis. In this book, leading researchers from around the world discuss interpretation issues, similarities and differences across alternative models, and propose practical solutions for the choice of the model and programming. Case studies show the practical use and the results brought forth by the different methods.

Economic Valuation with Stated Preference Techniques

Economic Valuation with Stated Preference Techniques
Author: Ian Bateman
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
Total Pages: 490
Release: 2002
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN:

This manual offers a detailed, up-to-date explanation of how to carry out stated preference techniques. The techniques use surveys to ask individuals how much they would be willing to pay or willing to accept in compensation for gains or losses of non-market goods and services. Applications of the technique include changes in air and water quality; noise nuisance; health care; risk; recorded heritage; cultural assets; habitats; Landscape and so on. It shows how to choose the most appropriate technique and how to design the questionnaires. Detailed advice on econometric analysis is provided, as well as explanation of the pitfalls that need to be avoided.

Achieving Universal Electricity Access in Indonesia

Achieving Universal Electricity Access in Indonesia
Author: Asian Development Bank
Publisher: Asian Development Bank
Total Pages: 165
Release: 2016-03-01
Genre: Technology & Engineering
ISBN: 9292572695

Indonesia has achieved an impressive 84% electrification ratio, but faces significant challenges in reaching the remaining 16% of its households. This report describes Indonesia’s electrification environment and identifies barriers to achieving universal electricity access. Principles drawn from international best practices such as government commitment, enabling institutional environments, adequate and sustainable financing, and stakeholder coordination are discussed in the context of Indonesia’s energy sector. The report gives recommendations for establishing service standards, streamlining financing, setting appropriate targets, and monitoring and evaluation, as well as near-term steps to help achieve universal electricity access.

The Power of Renewables

The Power of Renewables
Author: Chinese Academy of Engineering
Publisher: National Academies Press
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2011-01-29
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0309160006

The United States and China are the world's top two energy consumers and, as of 2010, the two largest economies. Consequently, they have a decisive role to play in the world's clean energy future. Both countries are also motivated by related goals, namely diversified energy portfolios, job creation, energy security, and pollution reduction, making renewable energy development an important strategy with wide-ranging implications. Given the size of their energy markets, any substantial progress the two countries make in advancing use of renewable energy will provide global benefits, in terms of enhanced technological understanding, reduced costs through expanded deployment, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to conventional generation from fossil fuels. Within this context, the U.S. National Academies, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), reviewed renewable energy development and deployment in the two countries, to highlight prospects for collaboration across the research to deployment chain and to suggest strategies which would promote more rapid and economical attainment of renewable energy goals. Main findings and concerning renewable resource assessments, technology development, environmental impacts, market infrastructure, among others, are presented. Specific recommendations have been limited to those judged to be most likely to accelerate the pace of deployment, increase cost-competitiveness, or shape the future market for renewable energy. The recommendations presented here are also pragmatic and achievable.

Energy and Civilization

Energy and Civilization
Author: Vaclav Smil
Publisher: MIT Press
Total Pages: 564
Release: 2018-11-13
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0262536161

A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years. —Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.

How Solar Energy Became Cheap

How Solar Energy Became Cheap
Author: Gregory F. Nemet
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 261
Release: 2019-05-20
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0429643853

Solar energy is a substantial global industry, one that has generated trade disputes among superpowers, threatened the solvency of large energy companies, and prompted serious reconsideration of electric utility regulation rooted in the 1930s. One of the biggest payoffs from solar’s success is not the clean inexpensive electricity it can produce, but the lessons it provides for innovation in other technologies needed to address climate change. Despite the large literature on solar, including analyses of increasingly detailed datasets, the question as to how solar became inexpensive and why it took so long still remains unanswered. Drawing on developments in the US, Japan, Germany, Australia, and China, this book provides a truly comprehensive and international explanation for how solar has become inexpensive. Understanding the reasons for solar’s success enables us to take full advantage of solar’s potential. It can also teach us how to support other low-carbon technologies with analogous properties, including small modular nuclear reactors and direct air capture. However, the urgency of addressing climate change means that a key challenge in applying the solar model is in finding ways to speed up innovation. Offering suggestions and policy recommendations for accelerated innovation is another key contribution of this book. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy technology and innovation, climate change and energy analysis and policy, as well as practitioners and policymakers working in the existing and emerging energy industries.

A Manual for the Economic Evaluation of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Technologies

A Manual for the Economic Evaluation of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Technologies
Author: Walter Short
Publisher:
Total Pages: 96
Release: 2005
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 9781410221056

A Manual for the Economic Evaluation of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Technologies provides guidance on economic evaluation approaches, metrics, and levels of detail required, while offering a consistent basis on which analysts can perform analyses using standard assumptions and bases. It not only provides information on the primary economic measures used in economic analyses and the fundamentals of finance but also provides guidance focused on the special considerations required in the economic evaluation of energy efficiency and renewable energy systems.