Power Surge
Christopher Flavin and Nicholas Lenssen
Earthscan, London
Flavin and Lenssen's excellent book is much more than a guide to the coming energy revolution: it also provides an illuminating account of the history of energy use.
A Solar Manifesto - Second Edition
Dr. Hermann Scheer is a member of the German.Bundestag (Parliament) and President of EUROSOLAR, the European organisation for renewable energies. In a career devoted to the replacement of nuclear.and fossil fuels with environmentally sound energy sources, Dr Scheer has received numerous awards, including the World Solar Prize and.the Alternative Nobel Prize.
ISBN 1 902916 24 7
In the decade since the "Earth Summit" in Rio de Janiero, the response of the world's.governments and authorities to the threats to the global environment has been to enforce the.reduction of energy consumption and harmful.emissions - solutions primarily based around conventional energy resources and conventional thinking. The question is, though, whether this.strategy is radical enough to address the key challenges now facing the environment, and whether it can be effective in avoiding catastrophe.on a global scale.
For Herman Scheer, the answer is a definite no. In this fully updated edition of A Solar.Manifesto, he once more attacks the lack of political will to find answers outside a conventional frame of reference. Climate change, pollution, deforestation, destruction of the ozone layer, poverty and the population explosion are all problems created or exacerbated by the.use of conventional energy. Seven years after the first edition of this book, answers are now more urgently required than ever, as current policies serve merely to alleviate the escalating symptoms rather than attempting a cure for what could become a terminal affliction.
Herman Scheer shows that this crisis may yet.be reversed - but it can only be made to happen through a fundamental change in political and economic strategies, paving the way towards a global solar energy economy sustained by new social principles.
A Solar Manifesto champions the replacement.of fossil and nuclear fuels with solar energy,.as a real solution to the threat to the environment and associated social consequences. Scheer constructs a radical yet innovative political and economic model and argues the case with passion and conviction for the global solar economy as the route to a sustainable environment. Thought-provoking and profoundly challenging, this book will be an inspiration to anyone concerned with energy and the global environment.
The World Directory of Renewable Energy Suppliers.& Services with Market Overview 2000
ISBN 1 902916 14 X
Now in its tenth annual edition, the World Directory is established as the largest and most comprehensive annual guide to the renewable energy industry. Alphabetical listings for some 5000 companies worldwide are included. Each is classified by activity, with over 550 headings.allowing rapid and accurate identification of.suppliers by product or service. Directory entries are verified by questionnaire annually, to ensure that the data included are accurate, complete.and up to date.
For the first time, this edition presents an assessment of the international renewable energy marketplace, compiled by telephone interviews and questionnaires. The overview addresses such issues as current size, market development and prospects for growth worldwide.
The Directory is an essential source of information for all involved in the rapidly expanding renewable energy industry, whether seeking sources of supply for renewable energy products and services, commercial partners or market intelligence.
Technology Transfer for Renewable Energy
Overcoming Barriers in Developing Countries
Gill Wilkins .
Published by EarthScan, in association with The Royal Institute of International Affairs)
This is a practical book on ways to speed up and facilitate the transfer of renewable energy technology to developing countries. Renewable energy has an enormous potential to contribute towards sustainable development, environmental protection and achieving the International Development Targets (IDTs) for poverty reduction.
Renewables offer significant investment opportunities, particularly for countries needing to rapidly develop energy supplies and infrastructure, while also mitigating emissions and climate change.
The author draws on extensive case study material from Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Thailand, the South Pacific, Kenya and India, to explain the main barriers to the successful transfer of renewable energy technology, the role of key players and how the clean development mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol can be used to stimulate investment and a market for clean energy supplies. The book focuses in particular on two technologies: grid-connected biomass cogeneration systems and stand-alone solar home systems.
It is an important and valuable tool for planners and policy-makers, and for the investment community, as well as energy, environment and development specialists including academics, consultants, developers, installers and manufacturers.
Sustainable Agriculture for Food, Energy and Industry
Strategies towards achievement
N EI Bassam, Head of the Energy. Crops Research Unit of the Federal Agriculture Research Centre (FAL) Braunschweig, Germany RX. Behl, Haryana Agriculture University, India B. Prochnow, Federal Agricultural Centre (FAL), Braunschweig, Germany
ISBN 1-873936-76-1
Agriculture the world over is under increasing.pressure both to be sustainably run - to be able to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs - and to provide food, energy and industrial resources to satisfy the growing demands of a rising world population.
Solar Energy - the State of the Art (ISES Position Papers)
Jeffrey M. Gordon holds the rank of professor.at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (Israel).
ISBN 1 902916 23 9
It is rare that a book draws together the knowledge.and experience of scientists, each a world leader.in their discipline, to create a work that presents.the state of the art in a field as rich and.diverse as solar energy.
In Solar Energy - the State of the Art this aim has been achieved. The book comprises twelve individual chapters, each dedicated to one of the major solar energy sub-disciplines and authored by an internationally recognised expert in the field. Areas covered range from solar radiation and meteorology, solar collectors.and concentrators, solar energy and the built environment, to solar thermal electricity, photovoltaics, wind energy and the potential cost of ignoring solar energy resources. The papers examine the.technology and field in question, discuss the rudiments and major applications, review the current science and technology and explore the remaining challenges for the future.
Solar Energy - the State of the Art is an essential reference work for all solar energy practitioners, students, researchers.and engineers wishing to gain a broad-based understanding of the theory, technology, applications and issues surrounding the broad, interdisciplinary field of solar energy. The book will form an important component of any library's solar energy.holding and will be of particular benefit as an academic reference, as well as being of practical value to professionals who wish to gain a clear understanding of the concepts required to move.forward in this field.
The Future for Renewable Energy 2
EUREC Agency was established in 1991 as a European Economic Interest Grouping to provide a forum for interdisciplinary co-operation in renewables research. It counts among its members many of Europe's foremost renewable energy research institutes.
ISBN: 1-902916-31-X
The ability of renewable energy sources to supply global energy needs - if not completely then to a significant degree - has been amply demonstrated. What needs to happen now in order to make large-scale implementation possible?
Leading researchers and specialists in the various fields of renewable energy have once again been commissioned by EUREC Agency (the European Union Renewable Energy Centres Agency) to completely re-assess the position of renewable energy technologies in the context of global energy supply, and to recommend a development path for each technology branch based on this analysis. The Future for Renewable Energy 2 presents the results of this extensive research, incorporating the findings of specialists from over 40 renewable energy research institutes, which represent in total over 1000 scientists.
The Future for Renewable Energy 2 examines each of the major renewable energy technologies. It provides a qualitative evaluation of their achievements to date, proposes for each sector detailed, realistic goals for a strong and coherent research, development and demonstration (RD&D) policy and maps out a path to a stronger market and more widespread deployment of renewable energy sources. Individual chapters cover biomass, photovoltaics, small hydro, solar buildings, solar thermal power stations, wind energy and solar process heat as well as other renewables including ocean energy and solar chemistry. Further chapters discuss the integration of these various technologies and their uptake by developing countries.
Essential reading for energy policy makers and planners, and for all those involved in renewables whether as researchers, manufacturers, utilities and practitioners, The Future for Renewable Energy 2 will be regarded as a critical and authoritative source for strategic planning of renewable energy development worldwide.
Sixteenth European
Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference
Proceedings of the International Conference held.in Glasgow, United Kingdom, 1-5 May 2000
ISBN 1 902916 18 2
The European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conferences.are dedicated to accelerating the impetus towards.sustainable development of global PV markets. The 16th in the series, held in Glasgow UK, brought together more than 1500 delegates from 72 countries, and provided an important and vital forum for information exchange in the.field.
The Conference Proceedings place on record a.new phase of market development and scientific endeavour in the PV industry, representing current.and innovative thinking in all aspects of the.science, technology, markets and business of photovoltaics.
Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines
Professor Martin O.L.Hansen is employed at the. Technical University of Denmark, where he lectures in wind turbine and related technologies.
ISBN 1 902916 06 9
Wind power is an increasingly significant renewable energy resource, producing no environmentally damaging CO2 emissions. The efficient production of electricity by wind turbines relies on aerodynamics: Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines provides the fundamental solutions to efficient wind turbine design.
Following a historical introduction, Part 1.of Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines is concerned with basic rotor aerodynamics, while Part 2 deals with structural aspects of the wind turbine and calculation of the loads on it.
Topics covered include increasing mass flow through the turbine, performance at low and.high wind speeds, assessment of the extreme conditions under which the turbine will perform.and the theory for calculating the lifetime of the turbine. The classical Blade Element. Momentum method is also covered, as are eigenmodes and the dynamic behaviour of a turbine.
Aerodynamics of Wind Turbines is an essential.reference for both engineering students and.others with a professional or academic interest.in the physics and technologies behind horizontal.axis wind turbines. It will provide a sound.understanding of the mechanisms behind the generation of forces on a wind turbine.
Biowaste and Biological Waste Treatment
Gareth Evans founded ZygoTec to research, develop and implement technologies for the utilization of biomass and. biowaste.
ISBN 1 902916 08 5
With growing public pressure and increasingly.stringent environmental legislation, the waste.industry is now being called upon to develop.more sustainable methods of dealing with refuse.Coupled with moves to reduce reliance on landfill.as a disposal route, biological treatment will.increasingly become adopted as a standard requirement.for the vast majority of putrescible wastes.
Biowaste and Biological Waste Treatment examines the present, and likely future, state.of biological waste treatment. The book falls.naturally into three parts. The first covers.the nature of biowaste, waste treatment in general.and the regulatory framework which governs it.The second looks at the technologies and approaches.available, while the final part examines the.various policy questions and local, social and.economic factors which affect the implementation.of biowaste initiatives.
A Real Goods Solar Living Book
Eleventh Edition
John Schaeffer with Doug Pratt and the staff of Real Goods Trading Company
ISBN 0-916571-04-1
In Hopland, California, two hours north of San Francisco on Highway 101, there is an oasis. Opened in June of 1996, the Real Goods Solar Living Center demonstrates through its structures and landscape the grace and excitement of a lifestyle called "Solar Living." Edible plants abound. Rows of trees and stone pillars orient visitors to the Solstice and Equinox. This is Stonehenge, California style: the corporate headquarters for Real Goods Trading Company .
Anyone who thinks that solar energy died with the elimination of 1970s tax breaks need only come to Hopland to see a business that is alive and well. Some of the products on display, such as solar modules developed by NASA, are distinctly from the space age. Others, such as the straw bales that make up the rear wall of the building, harken back to a simpler era, when life was easier to understand.
Who Owns the Sun?
People, Politics, and the Struggle for a Solar Economy
Daniel M. Berman and John T. O'Connor
Foreword by Ralph Nader
ISBN 0-930031-86-5
America's most powerful corporations, utilities, and environmental organizations are in league with government to protect a dirty little secret: Solar power is a better way of meeting this nation's (or, for that matter, any other's) future electrical needs. But even though we already have the technology to turn sunlight into clean, reliable power, they want to keep us in the dark.
Energy corporations manipulate congress, and handsomely reward congressional advocates, to keep people hooked on fossil fuels and delay solar development.
Who Owns the Sun has been endorsed by Ralph Nader and Senator Edward Kennedy .
Solar Heating:
Teacher's Guide to Renewable Energy Projects
Center for Alternative Technology
This Teacher's Guide contains projects, experiments, and solar heat facts for support of a renewable energy curriculum. It would be appropriate for about grade 8 through high school.
Includes solar cooker experiments, solar water heating, solar ponds, solar troughs, and other related ideas, all with how-to experiments suitable for the classroom. Solar radiation concepts are nicely explained.
Energy Revolution: Policies for a Sustainable Future
Howard Geller
Island Press, Washington DC
This book was hailed by Christopher Flavin, president of the Worldwatch Institute, as "a clear road map to the proven policies that will make a post-petroleum economy possible.”
Hands On - Energy, Infrastructure and Recycling
Emma Judge
ITDG Publishing, London
Based on the Hands On series of video films prepared by the Television Trust for the Environment and broadcast on BBC World, Hands On - Energy, Infrastructure and Recycling covers innovations in energy and power, buildings, transport and re-use of materials.
Factor Four
Ernst von Weizsacker, Amory B. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins
Earthscan, London
Factor Four is one of the very best and most important reports the Club of Rome has ever put out. It deals with the central challenge we face over the next half century: how to accommodate population growth and economic growth, while at the same time not just stabilizing the burden of consumption and waste currently threatening the planet, but reducing it below its present unsustainable level.
Transforming Electricity
Patterson
Earthscan, London
The enthusiastic heralding of revolutions is part of the frenetic backdrop to modern technological change. Such clarion calls are nowhere more familiar than in the field of environment and sustainability, where they have become something of an occupational hazard. But this book - with its powerful and engaging imagery, its readable style, its panoramic scope and its relaxed authority - is a classic of the genre.
A Place in the Sun
The Evolution of the Real Goods Solar Living Center
Sim Van der Ryn and The Project Team
Maya Books
In 1993 thousands of investors poured $3.6 million dollars into Real Goods Trading Corporation to support a plan that revolved round the construction of a "solar living center" - a demonstration site of materials, building techniques, renewable energy technologies and human systems for a sustainable future. The center, in Hopland, California, now features windmills and solar panels that produce enough electricity to allow Real Goods to sell power to the local utility company; abundant flowing water (pumped by solar power) that has created a lush oasis where formerly was a toxic patch of abused ground; the world's largest straw bale structure, beautifully illuminated by daylight, and heated and cooled without using fossil fuels.
A Place in the Sun is written by the people who actually brought the project to fruition, including Sim Van der Ryn, foremost practitioner of the principles of ecological design.
It’s a Breeze
A Guide to Choosing Windpower
Hugh Piggott
Maya Books
Can you really put up a windmill and use the electricity? The answers to this and all the common questions about windpower. What is involved in having your own wind turbine. How to work out whether it's appropriate for your situation. How to understand manufacturers jargon. Helpful case studies. Safety. Resource evaluation. Batteries.
Off the Grid
Managing Independent Renewable Electricity Systems
P. Allen and R. Todd
Maya Books
How to design, install and look after small scale renewable energy systems and live unplugged from the grid! For homes, boats, caravans and other recreational vehicles. Also very useful for home or business emergency power. System design, resource evaluation, batteries. a.c. or d.c.?. case studies, safety, technical file, glossary, resource guide.
Facts, Statistics, and Issues (Alternative Energy)
by Paula Berinstein
ISBN: 1573562483
A former reference librarian and the author of The Statistical Handbook on Technology, Berinstein here applies her statistical expertise to an analysis of alternative energy. The opening history of energy use includes coverage of conventional energy (coal, oil, natural gas, nuclear, and hydroelectric) and a time line dating from 1767 through 2000.
The next section includes a balanced discussion of the economics of renewable energy, with separate chapters covering the major alternatives: solar photovoltaics, solar thermal, biomass, wind, ocean and tidal, fusion, geothermal, and hydrogen. Each chapter includes an overview as well as treatment of equipment needs, economics, incentives, environmental considerations, and developments in the area. Throughout, Berinstein reiterates that not all alternative energy is harmless to the environment.
The work contains 85 tables (mainly from the U.S. Department of Energy) that cover measures such as emissions, consumption, fuel costs, operating costs, and production, to name just a few. The layout is attractive, with pictures, diagrams, and numerous "At a Glance" information boxes complementing the text. While the statistical information may be a bit overwhelming to the lay reader for whom this book is intended, having so much data in one volume is very handy. Of interest to academic and public library patrons; researchers in industry libraries will find the numbers useful. Eva Lautemann, Georgia Perimeter Coll., Clarkston.
Selected Reprints of Papers by Harry Zvi Tabor
International Solar Energy Society
Harry Tabor's personal biography is so closely intertwined with the last 50 years' development of solar energy technology that this selection of his papers can serve as a veritable history of solar research. The sobriquet "Solar Energy Pioneer" is certainly no exaggeration in view of his groundbreaking work in almost all fields of the discipline: He developed applications in the areas of selective surfaces and structures for collectors, as well as optics, solar ponds, cooling, concentrators, and more.
Tabor served on the Research Council of Israel (RCI) and in this capacity was instrumental in making Israel one of the leading countries in applied solar research. He also helped move the entire country towards using and implementing these technologies on a large scale. This book offers fascinating reading for renewable energy professionals who want to know more about the early stages of their discipline. It offers insight into the development of the fundamentals of solar technology from the early 1950s up to 1998, and as such will be of interest to the general public as well.
The papers are not concerned with technical aspects exclusively - essays such as "Solar Desalination - A Technology for Peace" show that Harry Tabor is a visionary and a pioneer in every sense of the word.
Solar 2000
[Proceedings of ASES Annual Conference & 25th National Passive Solar Conference]
American Solar Energy Society, The American Institute of Architects
ISBN/ID: 0895531720
Deep Design - Pathways to a Livable Future
David Wann
ISBN: 1559634200
In Deep Design, David Wann explores a new way of thinking about design, one that asks "What is our ultimate goal?" before the first step has even been taken. Designs that begin with such a question – whether in products, buildings, technologies, or communities – are sensitive to living systems, and can potentially accomplish their mission without the seemingly unavoidable side effects of pollution, erosion, congestion, and stress.
Such "deep designs" meet the key criteria of renewability, recyclability, and nontoxicity. Often based on natural systems, they are easy to understand and implement, and provide more elegant approaches to getting the services and functions we need. Wann presents information gleaned from interviews with more than fifty innovative designers in a wide variety of fields, and describes numerous case studies that explain the concept and practice of deep design.
Toward Sustainable Communities
Resources for Citizens and Their Governments
Mark Roseland
ISBN: 086571374X
Our most critical global environmental issues are rooted in local, day-to-day problems. While the environmental movement has inspired battles to protect nature, we have allowed our cities and towns to sprawl without consideration for resource efficiency - they have become gross engines of consumption and waste. Our communities now stand as the single source of most regional and global environmental problems.
Toward Sustainable Communities offers practical suggestions and innovative solutions to a wide range of municipal and community problems in clear, accessible language. Topics include air quality, transportation and traffic management, energy conservation and efficiency, land use and housing, and economic and community development in the context of achieving a “sustainable community.” Chapters include “Tools” and “Initiatives” sections to help readers achieve the goals of the chapter's topic, plus essential contacts and references.
Fostering Sustainable Behavior
An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing
Doug McKenzie-Mohr and William Smith
ISBN: 0865714061
Our consumption patterns are threatening to outstrip Earth's ability to support humanity and other species. A sustainable future will require sweeping changes in public behavior. While conventional marketing can help create public awareness, social marketing identifies and overcomes barriers to long-lasting behavior change.
This ground-breaking book is the primary resource for the emerging new field of community-based social marketing, and an invaluable guide for anyone involved in designing public education programs with the goal of promoting sustainable behavior, from recycling and energy efficiency to alternative transportation.
Energy and Problems of a Technical Society
Jack J. Kraushaar
ISBN: 0471573108
Designed to bring an understanding of the technological problems regarding our present society to students with no science background. Covers energy use in human history, its diverse sources, safety aspects, storage conservation and environmental problems. This edition includes the many changes which have taken place in issues involving energy and the environment during the past decade. A variety of current statistical information, numerous new problems and recommended outside reading material has been added.