This book mainly focuses on the solar energy conversion with the nanomaterials. It describes the applications on two dimensional carbon nanomaterials: graphene and graphdiyne. Also, works on conductive polymer and bio-inspired material is included. The work described here is the first few reports on the applications of graphene, which becomes one of the hottest materials nowadays. This work also proves and studies the charge transfer between the semi-conductor and graphene interface, which is benefit to the applications in solar cells and photocatalysis. At the same time, method to synthesize and assemble the given nanomaterials (TiO2 nanosheets, gold nanoparticles, graphene, PS-PAA, PANI) is detailed, which is easier to the readers to repeat the experiments.

Generation of electricity from renewable sources has become a necessity, particularly due to environmental concerns. In order for renewable sources to provide reliable power, their sporadic availability under certain conditions and the lack of control over the resource must be addressed. Different renewable energy sources and storage technologies bring various properties to the table, and power systems must be adapted and constructed to accommodate these. Power electronics and micro-grids play key roles in enabling the use of renewable energy in the evolving smarter grids. This book, written by well-known researchers with broad expertise and successful publication records, provides a systematic overview of modern power systems with integrated renewable energy. Chapters provide concise coverage of renewable energy generation, of storage technologies including chemical, electrostatic and thermal storage systems, and of energy integration, power conditioning systems, economic dispatch and scheduling, EV integration, as well as communications and cyber-security in power systems. This work is a highly valuable resource for researchers in industry and academia involved with renewable energy technology and power systems, for advanced students of related subjects, and for utilities engineers and professionals.

Large Scale Wind Power Grid Integration: Technological and Regulatory Issues presents engineers with detailed solutions on the challenges of integrating and transmitting electricity generated from high power wind installations, covering all of the standard engineering issues associated with high power wind generation. The book includes detailed case studies from eight wind power bases in China, providing important insights for engineers in countries that are seeking to develop large-scale wind power farms. Also discussed is the emergence of 10 GW-level wind power bases that are now operational in China and those that are planned for offshore construction in Europe, the U.S., and other places in the world. China's leadership in Large-scale wind power bases with capacities over 1 GW (which already account for approximately 70%-80% of the total installed capacity in China) means that globally, engineers who are challenged with developing large-scale wind power installations can gain access to the experiences of Chinese engineers in this important technology.

This book is for all those who are looking for a non-conventional mathematical model of electrical network systems. It presents a modern approach using linear algebra and derives various commonly unknown quantities and interrelations of network analysis. It also explores some applications of algebraic network model of and solves some examples of previously unsolved network problems in planning and operation of network systems. Complex mathematical aspects are illustrated and described in a way that is understandable for non-mathematicians. Discussing interesting concepts and practically useful methods of network analysis, it is a valuable resource for lecturers, students, engineers

This book is a concise review of the current status and future prospects of concentrating photovoltaic (CPV) technology. Starting with a summary of the current technical and economic status of CPV technology, it identifies the factors that hold CPV back in the commercial market. The main technical areas considered are solar cells, tracking and optics. The solar cells section focuses on spectrum splitting systems, which offer potentially higher efficiency than multi-junction cells with reductions in the manufacturing constraints that lead to high costs. It also offers a brief survey of the latest developments in spectral splitting alongside a discussion of the advances in solar cell manufacturing that aid the development of such systems. Further, it examines electrical design principles for spectral splitting systems that can improve the spectral stability of these systems' performance. The section on tracking includes a description of tracking integration with an update of the review published in Nature, presenting the latest advances in the field and focusing on surveying conceptual approaches rather than providing an exhaustive description of the literature. The optics section explores 3D printing and other emerging methods of fabricating optics for both prototype and large-scale production, as well as new classes of concentrators, particularly those based on novel photonic materials such as angular filters. Lastly, the authors consider the impact that environmental factors have on the performance of CPV in non-standard environments before concluding with a discussion of the combinations of technologies that they anticipate will most effectively boost CPV in the commercial market.

The evidence suggests that many solar programs are being designed and implemented in isolation and without reliance on published guidelines or the experience gained by others. The conclusion is obvious: the likelihood of a program being successful would be greatly improved if program implementers were made more aware of best practice guidelines and of the lessons and experience learned by others in implementing previous programs. Furthermore, the best practice guidelines not only need to be readily available but need to describe the stages, issues and the stakeholders' roles in designing and implementing a SHS program. This book showcases a detailed road map that has been developed for the implementation of rural electrification projects in developing countries using solar PV. Features of this book will be case studies derived from personal participatory observation of the authors on Solar Home Systems, their impact, their advantages and disadvantages and their operation.

This book comprises a selection of the top contributions presented at the second international conference "Smart and Sustainable Planning for Cities and Regions 2017", held in March 2017 in Bolzano, Italy. Featuring forty-six papers by policy-makers, academics and consultants, it discusses current groundbreaking research in smart and sustainable planning, including the progress made in overcoming cities' challenges towards improving the quality of life. Climate change adaptation and mitigation of global warming, generally identified as drivers of global policies, are just the "tip of the iceberg" when it comes to smart energy transition. Indeed, equally relevant towards this current transformation - and key topics in this volume - are ICTs, public spaces and society; next economy for the city; strategies and actions for good governance; urban-rural innovation; rethinking mobility. The book's depth in understanding and insightfulness in re-thinking demonstrate the breaking of new ground in smart and sustainable planning. A new ground that policy-makers, academics and consultants may build upon as a bedrock for smart and sustainable planning.

Heating and Cooling with Ground-Source Heat Pumps in Moderate and Cold Climates, Two-Volume Set focuses on the use of very low-temperature geothermal energy for heating and cooling residential, institutional, and industrial buildings, and aims to increase the design community's awareness and knowledge of the benefits, design, and installation requirements of commercial/institutional building ground-source heat pumps (GSHP). This set helps readers assess applicability, select a GSHP system type, and estimate building thermal load to ensure proper size for ground-source subsystems, appropriate brine and groundwater flow rates, and apt design of building closed-loops with distributed or central geothermal heat pumps. The first volume addresses fundamentals and design principles of vertical and horizontal indirect and direct expansion closed-loop, as well as ground- and surface-water ground-source heat pump systems. It explains the thermodynamic aspects of mechanical and thermochemical compression cycles of geothermal heat pumps, as well as the energetic, economic, and environmental aspects associated with the use of ground-source heat pump systems for heating and cooling residential and commercial/institutional buildings in moderate and cold climates. The second volume focuses on applications and cases studies of ground-source heat pumps in moderate and cold climates. It details technical aspects, as well as the most common and uncommon application fields of basic system configurations. The principles of system integrations and applications in moderate and cold climates are also presented, each followed by case studies. This comprehensive work is aimed at designers of HVAC systems, as well as geological, mechanical, and chemical engineers implementing environmentally-friendly heating and cooling technologies for buildings.

Focusing on technical, policy and social/societal practices and innovations for electrified transport for personal, public and freight purposes, this book provides a state-of-the-art overview of developments in e-mobility in Europe and the West Coast of the USA. It serves as a learning base for further implementing and commercially developing this field for the benefit of society, the environment and public health, as well as for economic development and private industry. A fast-growing, interdisciplinary sector, electric mobility links engineering, infrastructure, environment, transport and sustainable development. But despite the relevance of the topic, few publications have ever attempted to document or promote the wide range of electric mobility initiatives and projects taking place today. Addressing this need, this publication consists of case studies, reports on technological developments and examples of successful infrastructure installation in cities, which document current initiatives and serve as an inspiration for others.

This book offers examples of how data science, big data, analytics, and cloud technology can be used in healthcare to significantly improve a hospital's IT Energy Efficiency along with information on the best ways to improve energy efficiency for healthcare in a cost effective manner. The book builds on the work done in other sectors (mainly data centers) in effectively measuring and improving IT energy efficiency and includes case studies illustrating power and cooling requirements within Green Healthcare. Making Healthcare Green will appeal to professionals and researchers working in the areas of analytics and energy efficiency within the healthcare fields.

This book outlines the challenges that increasing amounts of renewable and distributed energy represent when integrated into established electricity grid infrastructures, offering a range of potential solutions that will support engineers, grid operators, system planners, utilities, and policymakers alike in their efforts to realize the vision of moving toward greener, more secure energy portfolios. Covering all major renewable sources, from wind and solar, to waste energy and hydropower, the authors highlight case studies of successful integration scenarios to demonstrate pathways toward overcoming the complexities created by variable and distributed generation.

This book brings together recent research from across the world on enriched methane, and examines the production, distribution and use of this resource in internal combustion engines and gas turbines. It aims to provide readers with an extensive account of potential technological breakthroughs which have the capacity to revolutionize energy systems. Enriched methane, a gas mixture composed by methane and hydrogen (10-30%vol), constitutes the first realistic step towards the application of hydrogen as an energy vector. It provides strong benefits in terms of emissions reduction, that is -11% of CO2, eq emission with the combustion of a 30%vol H2 mixture, if hydrogen is produced from renewable energy sources. Enriched methane offers the following advantages:* it can be produced at competitive costs; * it can be distributed by means of the medium pressure natural gas grid;* it can be stored in traditional natural gas storage systems; <* it can feed natural gas internal combustion engine, improving conversion efficiency. This book is intended for academics in chemical engineering and energy production, distribution and storage. It is also intended for energy producers, engineering companies and R&D organizations.

Biomass is a vital source of renewable energy, because it offers a wide range of established and potential methods for energy generation. It is also an important facet of the progression toward a sustainable energy future. The need for further development in the provision of bioenergy is underlined by challenges affecting the biomass resource base, including rising demand for biomass for food, feed, materials and fuel. This is underlined by significant concerns over factors relating to land, such as soil, nutrients and biodiversity. This book examines and analyzes Germany's decade-long initiative toward implementation of an active policy for the transition of the energy system to make greater use of renewable energy sources, which has resulted in a significant increase in the amount of biomass used for electricity, heat and transport fuel. The book begins with a review of market and resource base issues and moves on to analyze the technical options for a more integrated bioenergy use. The analysis spans the entire bioenergy provision chain including solid, liquid and gaseous biofuels. A case study offers a detailed model of the effects of smart biomass energy on the German energy system. The book closes with a view of the most promising fields and an appraisal of needed elements for a successful transition.

The handbook focuses on a complete outline of lithium-ion batteries. Just before starting with an exposition of the fundamentals of this system, the book gives a short explanation of the newest cell generation. The most important elements are described as negative / positive electrode materials, electrolytes, seals and separators. The battery disconnect unit and the battery management system are important parts of modern lithium-ion batteries. An economical, faultless and efficient battery production is a must today and is represented with one chapter in the handbook. Cross-cutting issues like electrical, chemical, functional safety are further topics. Last but not least standards and transportation themes are the final chapters of the handbook. The different topics of the handbook provide a good knowledge base not only for those working daily on electrochemical energy storage, but also to scientists, engineers and students concerned in modern battery systems.

This exciting primer on Solar Racing literally starts from the ground up, describing how the interactions of a vehicle with its environment circumscribe its ultimate success, from aerodynamics to resistance and propulsion. By demonstrating how to mathematically model these underlying physical phenomena, the author helps solar racing competitors carefully select key characteristics of the vehicle, such as weight and shape, to produce optimal speed. Energy conversion and demand are given particular attention, followed by chapters devoted to examining solar racers' design, manufacture and testing using a structured problem-solving process to keep projects on track and on schedule. A chapter devoted to energy management strategies provides invaluable tips on maximizing average speed during a race. Complex issues such as ventilation system analysis and performance simulation are covered in dedicated appendices. The financial aspect of project design is not neglected, as both fund-raising and cost estimation are given in-depth consideration.

There is widespread interest in the way that smart energy control systems, such as assessment and monitoring techniques for low carbon, nearly-zero energy and net positive buildings can contribute to a Sustainable future, for current and future generations. There is a turning point on the horizon for the supply of energy from finite resources such as natural gas and oil become less reliable in economic terms and extraction become more challenging, and more unacceptable socially, such as adverse public reaction to 'fracking'. Thus, in 2016 these challenges are having a major influence on the design, optimisation, performance measurements, operation and preservation of: buildings, neighbourhoods, cities, regions, countries and continents. The source and nature of energy, the security of supply and the equity of distribution, the environmental impact of its supply and utilization, are all crucial matters to be addressed by suppliers, consumers, governments, industry, academia, and financial institutions. This book entitled 'Smart Energy Control Systems for Sustainable Buildings' contains eleven chapters written by international experts based on enhanced conference papers presented at the Sustainability and Energy in Buildings International conference series. This book will be of interest to University staff and students; and also industry practioners.

This handbook brings together recent advances in the areas of supply chain optimization, supply chain management, and life-cycle cost analysis of bioenergy. These topics are important for the development and long-term sustainability of the bioenergy industry. The increasing interest in bioenergy has been motivated by its potential to become a key future energy source. The opportunities and challenges that this industry has been facing have been the motivation for a number of optimization-related works on bioenergy. Practitioners and academicians agree that the two major barriers of further investments in this industry are biomass supply uncertainty and costs. The goal of this handbook is to present several cutting-edge developments and tools to help the industry overcome these supply chain and economic challenges. Case studies highlighting the problems faced by investors in the US and Europe illustrate the impact of certain tools in making bioenergy an economically viable energy option.

Photovoltaic electricity generation is a rapidly growing industry, and a key pillar of a decarbonised energy system. In modern solar cells, laser technology is used to form localised structures such as a selective emitter through doping or to locally ablate dielectric layers for contact definition. A critical factor is the ability to passivate the laser-induced defects to prevent premature charge carrier recombination reducing the cell efficiency. Hydrogenation is such a passivation technique. The exact mechanisms have until recently been poorly understood, so this timely reference covers the recent breakthroughs in the understanding of hydrogen passivation. The book addresses key technologies for improving the efficiency of solar cells, including the industry-dominating PERC concept with an added rear passivation layer to reduce recombination. Coverage includes hydrogen passivation mechanisms, bulk and surface defect passivation, hydrogenation of light-induced defects, potential negative impacts of hydrogen, and laser doping for rapid diffusion and for selective emitter formation. This work also provides brand new results that enable low-quality silicon to be used for heterojunction applications and could pave the way for future low-cost, high-efficiency silicon solar cell technologies featuring passivated contacts to be fabricated on p-type wafers. This work is indispensable for researchers in the field of photovoltaic energy, in academia as well as industry.

This book addresses the developing area of biomass for technological applications. Written by leading researchers in the field, the book differs from other literature available by providing a detailed, in-depth discussion of the characteristics of these materials. The use of biomass for technological applications is a rapidly growing area in materials engineering and green bioprocesses. In this approach, pre-treatments focus on the bioavailability of nutrients and facilitate the use of biomass for delivering byproducts (e.g. enzymes) and for bioenergy production, both of which are discussed at length in this book. In this regard, it explores various aspects of the structural complexity of residual biomass produced by agricultural, industrial and livestock activities for biotechnological purposes, and assesses both conventional and emerging pre-treatments (e.g. biological, enzymatic and physical-chemical). This book reveals the advantages of these techniques, both individually and in combination, making it an excellent resource for all readers interested in cutting-edge applications of biomass.

This book addresses the key concerns regarding the operation of wind turbines in cold climates and focuses in particular on the analysis of icing and methods for its mitigation. Topics covered include the implications of cold climates for wind turbine design and operation, the relevance of icing for wind turbines, the icing process itself, ice prevention systems and thermal anti-icing system design. In each chapter, care is taken to build systematically on the basic knowledge, providing the reader with the level of detail required for a thorough understanding. An important feature is the inclusion of several original analytical and numerical models for ready computation of icing impacts and design assessment. The breadth of the coverage and the in-depth scientific analysis, with calculations and worked examples relating to both fluid dynamics and thermodynamics, ensure that the book will serve not only as a textbook but also as a practical manual for general design tasks.

This expansive reference on the use of clean energy technologies in the aviation industry focuses on tools and solutions for maximizing the energy efficiency of aircrafts, airports, and other auxiliary components of air transit. Key topics range from predicting impacts of avionics and control systems to energy/exergy performance analyses of flight mechanics and computational fluid dynamics. The book includes findings both from experimental investigations and functional extant systems, ranging from propulsion technologies for aerospace vehicles to airport design to energy recovery systems. Engineers, researchers and students will benefit from the broad reach and numerous engineering examples provided.

The Renewable Energy Systems: Fundamentals and Source Characteristics is a set book coming in two volumes. The first volume is named "Fundamentals and Source Characteristics of Renewable Energy Systems". It will cover electric energy from alternative energy sources including solar, wind, water, hydropower, geothermal and ocean energy. This textbook is intended for an audience with little or no power engineering or renewable energy background. The second volume is called "Energy Storage, Grid Integration, Energy Economics and the Environment". This book will cover energy storage systems, bioenergy and hydrogen economy, grid integration of the renewable energy systems, distributed generation, economic analysis and environmental impacts of renewable energy systems. Solutions manual and Power Point slides are also included for instructors.

As the electrical industry continues to develop, one sector that still faces a range of concerns is the electrical distribution system. Excessive industrialization and inadequate billing are just a few issues that have plagued this electrical sector as it advances into the smart grid environment. Research is necessary to explore the possible solutions in fixing these problems and developing the distribution sector into an active and smart system. New Solutions and Technologies in Electrical Distribution Networks is a collection of innovative research on the methods and applications of solving major issues within the electrical distribution system. Some issues covered within the publication include distribution losses, improper monitoring of system, renewable energy integration with micro-grid and distributed energy sources, and smart home energy management system modelling. This book is ideally designed for power engineers, electrical engineers, energy professionals, developers, technologists, policymakers, researchers, academicians, industry professionals, and students seeking current research on improving this key sector of the electrical industry.

The 3rd International Congress on Energy Efficiency and Energy Related Materials (ENEFM2015) was held from 19-23 October 2015. This congress focused on the latest developments of sustainable energy technologies, materials for sustainable energy applications and environmental and economic perspectives of energy. These proceedings included 40 peer-reviewed technical papers, submitted by leading academic and research institutions from over 23 countries and represented some of the most cutting-edge researches available. The sections included in the 40 papers are listed as follows: Solar Energy, Fuel cells, Hydrogen productions, Hydrogen storage, Energy storage, Energy saving, Biofuels and Bioenergy, Wind Energy, Nuclear Energy, Fossil Energy, Hydropower, Carbon capture and storage, Materials for renewable energy storage and conversion, Photovoltaics and solar cells, Fuel generation from renewables (catalysis), Carbon dioxide sequestration and conversion, Materials for energy saving, Thermoelectrics, Energy saving in buildings, Bio-Assessment and Toxicology, Air pollution from mobile and stationary sources, Transport of Air Pollutants, Environment-Friendly Construction and Development, Energy Management Systems.