With America's dependence on fossil fuels painfully apparent due to world events and the resultant sharply rising gas prices, the search for renewable energy sources has never been more important. Still, the quest for sustainable energy is far from new. Since passage of the National Energy Act of 1978, states and the federal government have encouraged technological advances designed to make the United States self-sufficient when it comes to energy production. Government incentives and global-minded policymakers encourage development of alternative energy sources. While addressing the national issues of global climate change and energy security, the idea of sustainable energy must also find a way to appeal to an increasingly competitive market. Through nine case studies, this volume explores the roles which politics, market forces and leadership play as barriers or facilitators in the development of sustainable energy sources. Beginning with an overview of energy-related programs and legislation including the National Energy Act of 1978 and the Energy Policy acts of 1992 and 2005, the book discusses the various financial programs and policy mechanisms used by the states. Each of the nine essays examines sustainable energy development within a particular state or region. The importance of the political climate, the impact of free markets and the value of effective leadership with regard to this particular technological development remains a common thread. Topics such as the perceived effectiveness of state and federal governmental efforts and prevalent attitudes regarding renewable energy are also discussed. Each essay includes an in-depth bibliography with many website resources to encourage further research. Statistical tables are also provided.

Global warming due to fossil fuel consumption is recognized as the major environmental challenge of the 21st Century. Successfully reversing this global crisis requires that the fastest growing economies of the world primarily in Asia significantly and successfully deploy renewable energy sources. This book documents how six developing Asian countries are taking head on electric power development and global warming issues with successful alternative energy programs.
As the world looks to transition into new sources of fuel, this book should be a top-read for utility managers, energy professionals, independent power developers and university professors.

Features & benefits:
Provides a template for nations, policymakers, international investors, and developers to consult to to implement renewable
energy in the economies where it is most essential.
Covers hot-button issues of global warming, renewable energy, and international development in an easy-to-read format.
Includes more than 20 comparative tables and a conclusion of the best practices for renewable energy programs.
List of acronyms, abbreviations, and definitions used in the text

In recent years, the federal government's increasing inability to address major societal challenges has arguably hampered America's commitment to renewable energy initiatives. Individual U.S. states have stepped into this void and adopted their own policies, leading some to believe that the states can propel America's renewable energy industry forward. There is no guarantee, however, that the states will invent their own pioneering policies rather than copy existing templates from each other. Moreover, we know very little about how legislative and regulatory dynamics within America's states might accelerate or hinder renewable energy policy creation. In Following in Footsteps or Marching Alone?, Srinivas Parinandi explores how the states have devised their own novel policies, and how the political workings of legislatures and public utilities commissions have impacted state renewable energy policy design. Through the meticulous study of nearly three decades of state-level renewable energy policy-making, he finds that their creation is primarily driven by legislatures, and that ideologically liberal legislatures largely push the envelope. To the extent that public utilities commissions craft these policies, they do so with an eye toward avoiding pushback from electric utility companies. The book suggests that a limit of having a predominantly state-driven renewable energy effort can lead to uneven and patchwork-based policy development outcomes, and a possible solution is to try to more successfully federalize these issues. Parinandi urges readers, scholars, and policy practitioners to consider whether a state-led effort is adequate enough to handle the task of building momentum for renewable energy in one of the world's largest electricity markets.

The electricity sector is rapidly changing. Faced with the challenge of climate change, coal consumption is declining. Policy designs focus on raising the penetration of renewable energy. However, there are still drawbacks that prevent renewable energy from being adopted at industrial scale. It is therefore increasingly important for the policy makers to identify ways to leverage the benefits of renewable energy and at the same time preserve the availability, affordability and reliability of electricity. Several studies have explored the possibility of coordinating fossil fuel fired power plants with renewable energy. This report presents several options for the northern hemisphere.

The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) regional Global Tracking Framework report is part of a series of multi-agency assessments that monitor progress towards the three Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG 7) objectives. This first edition of the report builds upon the 2017 Global Tracking Framework report, by tracking the indicators of each SDG 7 objective within the UNECE sub-regions. The report then goes further to identify the current status of sustainable energy across a broader set of energy indicators, identifies key issues along the energy value chain, and highlights UNECE country responses to initiate change. The report further argues that this broader set of energy indicators is required to comprehensively track energy for sustainable development.

This ongoing series serves as a stepping stone in understanding specific careers and provides a wealth of information on the education and training needed within each profession along with a look towards the future of the field with an informative employment outlook.

There is a rapid growth of interest in the use of renewable resources, and in particular bio-resources for the manufacture of future, sustainable chemicals and materials. This movement is encouraged by end-user concerns over security of supply, legislation forcing substitution of many common chemicals, new standards for bio-based products and consumer pressure. With increasing pressure around the world to move towards bio-based chemicals, it is essential that the bio-economy is underpinned with sound science and technology. This Faraday Discussion addresses some of the critical issues in this field by bringing together experts in different but complementary areas in the chemical sciences. The book explores topics such as how green chemistry can complement biotechnology in the production of chemicals and materials; catalytic technologies best suited for the biomass challenge; biomass conversion technologies; and whether existing bio-based chemicals and materials should be used or new molecules and processes created to deal with new components.

The world is at the crossroads of either quickly changing the energy picture towards implementing efficient renewable energy sources or postponing this process by another generation. Based on the author's more than 30 years industrial experience, this book gives a set of assumptions by extrapolating known technology developments and shows that 100% coverage by renewable technology of the global energy needs is much more probable than previously argued.

This book offers an international, first-stop look at dependence on natural resources.Studies predict that world energy consumption will increase by 59 percent before the year 2020. Faced with skyrocketing energy costs, dwindling supplies of fossil fuels, and increasing environmental degradation, people around the globe are becoming more and more resourceful in finding more efficient ways to fuel modes of transportation, heat and light their homes and businesses, and power the production of goods of all kinds.""Energy Supply and Renewable Resources"" examines the history behind industrialized nations' dependence on natural resources, particularly fossil fuels, as well as developing nations' increasing consumption of these resources. This eye-opening guide draws parallels between the energy-related challenges faced by the United States and those of several key nations: China, Germany, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Venezuela. Through primary source documents, statistical data, graphs, and charts, this accessible book surveys current energy consumption and production trends, and presents evidence of the need to harness alternative, renewable sources of energy. It also studies the environmental, economic, and political effects of existing energy infrastructures; reviews current energy policies; studies threats to energy supply; highlights those nations playing key roles in current and future energy production; and presents research on the use of emerging energy alternatives.

The present energy economy, with its heavy dependence on fossil fuels is not sustainable over the medium to long term for many interconnected reasons. Climate change is now recognized as posing a serious threat. Energy and resource decisions involving the carbon fuels therefore play a large role in this threat. Fossil fuel reserves may also be running short, and many of the major reserves are in politically unstable parts of the world.
Yet citizens in nations with rapidly developing economies aspire to the benefits of the modern energy economy. China and India alone have 2.4 billion potential customers for cars, industries, and electrical services. Even so, more than half of the world's citizens still lack access to energy. Decisions involving fossil fuels are therefore a significant part of the development equation.
This volume explains how the law can impede or advance the shift to a world energy picture significantly different from that which exists today.
This book first examines the factors that create the problems of the present carbon economy, including environmental concerns and development goals. It then provides international and regional legal perspectives, examining public international law, regional legal structures, the responses of international legal bodies, and the role of major international nongovernmental actors. The book then moves on to explore sectoral perspectives including the variety of renewable energy sources, new carbon fuels, nuclear power, demand controls, and energy efficiency. Finally, the authors examine how particular States are, could, or should, be adapting legally to the challenges of moving beyond the carbon economy.

Democratization, globalization, and increased environmental awareness have had a profound impact on the regulation of industry in the energy and natural resources sector. This book analyses the changes in character of the way this industry is regulated, and seeks to make connections with theoretical perspectives on regulation as a major part of the modern legal system. Part I examines the emergence of alternatives to regulation, such as 'soft law' in developing countries, the European Electricity and Gas Directives of 1996 and 1998, the idea of regulation of company structure as opposed to performance, multi-faceted government alternative regulatory instruments, and market mechanics. Part II analyses conventional methods of regulation, and how they have evolved, including case studies from the Netherlands, the USA, Singapore, New Zealand, and the UK. Part III looks at regulatory innovations such as environmental audit, self-regulation, the 'Voluntary Action Plan', private-sector standard setting, and certification. Part IV examines the role of non-state actors, and their response to national and supranational regulatory changes, and globalization. Recent shifts in the perception of energy security, failures in energy company corporate governance, and evolving self-regulatory frameworks renders this a timely and worthy examination of the issues facing the energy and natural resources industry today.

Heating and cooling represent significant energy loads around the world, with the associated high level of carbon emissions. Many countries have commitments in place to derive an increasing proportion of the energy they use for heating and cooling from renewable sources; some are seeing greater success than others in moving towards these targets.

This best practices handbook from the International Energy Agency's Renewable Energy Technology Deployment (RETD) Implementing Agreement provides energy policymakers and professionals in the renewable energy industry with a practical, easy to use guide and toolkit to the most effective policy options for deploying renewable energy for heating and cooling in the residential sector.

The book opens with a comparative review of renewable energy for heating and cooling policies in a broad range of IEA member countries in Europe, Asia and North America and then goes on to present the policy approaches of the individual countries and more detailed studies of specific programmes. The second part of the book presents readers with flowcharts which allow them to navigate directly to the best practices which are most relevant to their situation. Planning, design and implementation are all covered, each with examination of the possible barriers that may be faced and the most appropriate policy response used to date.

pUlished with IEA-RETD.

This four-volume set, edited by a leading expert in the field, brings together in one collection a series of papers that have been fundamental to the development of renewable energy as a defined discipline. Some of the papers were first published many years ago, but they remain classics in their fields and retain their relevance to the understanding of current issues. The papers have been selected with the assistance of an eminent international editorial board. The set includes a general introduction and each volume is introduced by a new overview essay, placing the selected papers in context. The range of subject matter is considerable, including coverage of all the main renewable technologies, the fundamental principles by which they function, and the issues around their deployment such as planning, integration and socio-economic assessment. Overall, the set provides students, teachers and researchers, confronted with thousands of journal articles, book chapters and grey literature stretching back decades, with a ready-made selection of and commentary on the most important key writings in renewable energy. It will be an essential reference for libraries concerned with energy, technology and the environment.

Environmental and human catastrophe looms ever larger for planet Earth. Powerful action is required now to turn a deepening global crisis into an unprecedented opportunity for positive change. This book shows how a dramatic transformation of how humans relate to the Earth, and to one another, can be achieved. Surviving the Century is the first major publication by the World Future Council (WFC), a new international voice for future generations. Reflecting the positive mission of the WFC, each chapter addresses a different critical issue in a systematic and constructive way, describing and analysing the topic before indicating real solutions. The eight main issues covered are: countering climate chaos, renewable energy policy, local farming systems, rainforests and climate change, creating sustainable cities, cradle to cradle production systems, a radical vision for trade and creating a living democracy. Surviving the Century is a must-have primer and action plan for all leaders in government, business and NGOs, and for all who want to be part of the historic opportunity to provide solutions to the greatest challenge humanity has ever faced. Published with the World Future Council.

A feed-in tariff is where the price per unit that a utility or supplier has to pay for renewable electricity is kept at a premium, which allows electricity generators to sell renewable energy sources at a fixed tariff for a determined period of time. Supporters argue that the feed-in model is one that, if implemented around the world, would greatly assist the energy revolution that is so desperately required: through CO2 reduction, job creation, export market creation and improved energy security. It was recommended in the Stern Report as the best policy tool for the fastest, lowest-cost deployment of renewables, and Germany's world leadership in renewable energy is largely due to their exemplary version.Feed-in Tariffs is a concise introduction to feed-in law, presented in the context of other renewable energy policies, and examining the experience of countries that have implemented this model. The author argues that the policy should be implemented anywhere with a suitable national power grid infrastructure, and proposes variations on the policy for those areas without. Alternative models are examined, and their comparative advantages and disadvantages discussed, to provide policy makers with the information required to consider feed-in tariffs as a model, and to introduce the concept to renewable energy technology manufacturers, producers and investors.Published with the World Future Council

Wind power is currently considered as the fastest growing energy resource in the world. Technological advances and government subsidies have contributed in the rapid rise of Wind power systems. The Handbook on Wind Power Systems provides an overview on several aspects of wind power systems and is divided into four sections: optimization problems in wind power generation, grid integration of wind power systems, modeling, control and maintenance of wind facilities and innovative wind energy generation. The chapters are contributed by experts working on different aspects of wind energy generation and conversion.