The construction process, right through from planning and design to use and demolition, has a major impact on society. Traditionally, concern has been focused on its environmental impact and the quest for sustainability, but this has now extended into the wider remit of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Essentially, this means that businesses must act (voluntarily) in a socially ethical manner by developing a policy that encompasses the core principles enshrined by CSR.

A unique presentation on a topic of emerging importance, Corporate Social Responsibility in the Construction Industry is essential reading for all built environment undergraduate and post-graduate courses, as well as CEOs and senior managers within construction businesses who may be about to embark on developing a CSR strategy.

Fuel Cells: Principles, Design, and Analysis considers the latest advances in fuel cell system development and deployment, and was written with engineering and science students in mind. This book provides readers with the fundamentals of fuel cell operation and design, and incorporates techniques and methods designed to analyze different fuel cell systems. It builds on three main themes: basic principles, analysis, and design.

The section on basic principles contains background information on fuel cells, including fundamental principles such as electrochemistry, thermodynamics, and kinetics of fuel cell reactions as well as mass and heat transfer in fuel cells. The section on design explores important characteristics associated with various fuel cell components, electrodes, electrocatalysts, and electrolytes, while the section on analysis examines phenomena characterization and modeling both at the component and system levels.

• Includes objectives and a summary in each chapter
• Presents examples and problems demonstrating theory/principle applications
• Provides case studies on fuel cell analysis
• Contains mathematical methods including numerical methods and MATLAB(r) Simulink(r) techniques
• Offers references and material for further reading

Fuel Cells: Principles, Design, and Analysis presents the basic principles, examples, and models essential in the design and optimization of fuel cell systems. Based on more than ten years of the authors teaching experience, this text is an ideal resource for junior- to senior-level undergraduate students and for graduate students pursuing advanced fuel cell research and study."

This is one of the first books that comprehensively explains fundamental theories of natural resource and infrastructure public private partnership (NRI-PPP) projects and project finance. NRI-PPP projects and project finance have been adopted in natural resource development, including oilfield development, mine development, and liquefied natural gas production; manufacturing, such as petrochemistry, which uses crude oil; and infrastructure-related projects such as railways, roads, airports, ports, water supply, waste treatment, communications, and electricity. An important concern during negotiations among the various stakeholders is the lack of congruence between theories underlying NRI-PPP projects and project finance and the particular, real-life business considerations of the subject project and lack of understanding of the key theories. Studies that help us understand NRI-PPP projects and project finance have been developed based on economic theories such as contract theory and the economics of law by several distinguished professors. Until now, however, in financial institutions staff in departments that specialize in project finance have developed an understanding of the theories underlying NRI-PPP projects and project finance primarily through on-the-job training during which business points of view were passed on. Principles and theories regarding NRI-PPP projects and project finance have not been taught through textbooks in these firms. In fact, there are only a few books that explain the fundamental theories for actual project structures or actual project finance. This book attempts to fill that gap by making clear the fundamental theories that exist behind the actual projects and project finance in relation to natural resources and infrastructure. Readers of this book will include not only professionals in various private sectors and banks but also those involved in PPP projects in the public sector.

Coupling power generation with syngas-based chemical synthesis according to the so-called 'Polygeneration-Annex' concept offers economic and technical benefits. Clemens Forman assesses the integration of incoming streams by the Annex plant from a power plant point of view across its full load range. Analyses are done by load-dependent flowsheet simulation. The pulverized lignite combustion power plant process is covered by two generic technical states: an existing 650 MW(el) power plant and a near future 1,100 MW(el) power plant with duo block design and dry lignite co-firing. Modeling comprises both the flue gas path and the water-steam circuit. Appropriate stream interfaces are identified and determined depending on the load status. The technical feasibility of integration can be proven.

The book explores advanced building-facade daylighting design practices based on diverse energy and human-factor performance metrics. It also defines effective daylighting by rethinking the simplified approach to glazing and facade systems to incorporate the local climate and the needs of building occupants as critical drivers of building performance, design solutions and technological innovation. It discusses state-of-the-art approaches in the context of simulation-based design workflows, innovative technologies and real project case studies, all targeting low and net-zero energy solutions that enhance occupant comfort. Readers benefit from a comprehensive approach that improves the feedback loop between design intent and performance in use. The book is intended for architects, lighting designers, facade engineers, manufacturers and building owners/operators, as well as advanced students.

Renewable Energy Finance: Theory and Practice integrates the special characteristics of renewable energy with key elements of project finance. Through a mixture of fundamental analysis and real-life examples, readers learn how renewable energy project finance works in actual deals that mix finance, public policy, legal, engineering and environmental issues. The skills developed in analyzing non-recourse cash flow-based finance are applicable not only to green energy, but also apply more widely in project finance and infrastructure investing. The book's comparisons of developed and developing countries make it valuable to readers worldwide.

Energy technology innovation - improving how we produce and use energy - is critical for a transition towards sustainability. This book presents a rich set of twenty case studies of energy technology innovation embedded within a unifying conceptual framework. It provides insights into why some innovation efforts have been more successful than others, and draws important policy conclusions. The case studies cover a wide range of energy technologies, ranging from energy supply to energy end use, from successes to failures and from industrialized, emerging and developing economies. The case studies are presented by an international group of eminent scholars under the auspices of the Global Energy Assessment (GEA), whose main volume was published in 2012 by Cambridge University Press. Energy Technology Innovation presents new data, new concepts and novel analytical and policy perspectives. It will be invaluable for researchers, policy makers, economists, industrial innovators and entrepreneurs in the field of energy technology.

Emil Kraft analyses the French capacity remuneration mechanism design and develops a capacity market model that draws upon an agent-based simulation. The capacity mechanism was implemented to mitigate the imminent risk to the security of supply and to complement the electricity markets. The author applies his model to real data in three scenarios and assesses both the impact of the mechanism on the development of the French generation fleet until 2050 and the evolution of the capacity prices. The key conclusions consist of the effectiveness and the controllability of the implemented mechanism. As a complement to functioning electricity markets it is able to provide sufficient investment incentives and thus to guarantee the French security of supply in the future.

This bold and controversial argument shows why energy transitions are inherently complex and prolonged affairs, and how ignoring this fact raises unrealistic expectations that the United States and other global economies can be weaned quickly from a primary dependency on fossil fuels. Energy transitions are fundamental processes behind the evolution of human societies: they both drive and are driven by technical, economic, and social changes. In a bold and provocative argument, Energy Transitions: History, Requirements, Prospects describes the history of modern society's dependence on fossil fuels and the prospects for the transition to a nonfossil world. Vaclav Smil, who has published more on various aspects of energy than any working scientist, makes it clear that this transition will not be accomplished easily, and that it cannot be accomplished within the timetables established by the Obama administration. The book begins with a survey of the basic properties of modern energy systems. It then offers detailed explanations of universal patterns of energy transitions, the peculiarities of changing energy use in the world's leading economies, and the coming shifts from fossil fuels to renewable conversions. Specific cases of these transitions are analyzed for eight of the world's leading energy consumers. The author closes with perspectives on the nature and pace of the coming energy transition to renewable conversions.

This book examines the background of fourth-generation biofuel production, use of genetically modified microalgae for production of fourth-generation biofuels; cultivation and harvesting of genetically modified microalgae; residue from biofuel extraction; health and environmental concerns of fourth-generation biofuels; regulations on cultivation and processing of the genetically modified algae; carbon dioxide sequestration; water footprint and current status and key challenges. The topic caters to academic researchers and industrial experts, who work in the field of biofuels as source of alternative fuel to achieve environmental and economic sustainability.

This book highlights the basic information about lightning. It is an unpredictable disaster, and it is an extremely complex electrical discharge phenomenon. A complete theory of lightning does not exist till now. This book elaborates on the basic formation of lightning, terminologies related to lightning, and the preliminary lightning theory. There are different types of lightning, such as cloud flashes, ground flashes (both positive and negative), and air discharges. This book explains some unusual events related to lightning and inspects innovation. This book also describes the measurement of electric and magnetic fields generated by lightning, which are the basic parameters for lightning fundamentals.

Presentations on the International Conference on Technology for the Global Economic, Environmental Survival and Prosperity; R.A. Krakowski, J.G. Martin. Global Energy Demand and Energy Security Projections in the Coming Century: Global Economy, Environment, Resources, and Population Issues: The Realities of Sustainable Development in the Twenty-First Century; W. Martin. The Nuclear Fuel Cycle and Other Features of Nuclear Power, Reaching a Public Consensus; R. Wilson. Relevance of International Consensus Policies on Alternative National Energy Strategies as Related to the Regional Needs, Environmental Impact, and Geopolitical Trends: Energy Technology Progress for Sustainable Development; D.E. Arvizu, T.E. Drennen. Education on Energy and Global Issues: The Importance of Education for Nuclear Energy; G. Clark. Global Initiatives for the Future of Nuclear Energy: The Los Alamos National Laboratory Nuclear Vision Project; E.D. Arthur, R.L. Wagner, Jr. Nuclear Technologies: Boron Neutron Capture Therapy of Malignant Brain Tumors at the Brookhaven Medical Research Reactor; D.D. Joel et al. Key Issues in Nuclear Power: A World Commission on Nuclear Energy: Reasons and Purpose; P. Beck. 12 Additional Articles. Index.

This brief explores the business and global implications of the American shale energy, or natural gas, revolution. Specifically, it provides a rational, comprehensive look at the major business themes and management implications that surround the new abundance of natural gas in the United States and identifies some of the most significant geopolitical considerations globally. While acknowledging some of the controversies and hazards surrounding the extraction techniques, commonly known as "fracking", the author also looks at the hopes this technique poses and details how shale energy will impact supply chains for firms. The discovery of new sources of domestic natural gas in recent years - coupled with innovations that facilitated their extraction - has altered the global landscape. However, the vast majority of the information out there for business students, faculty, and practitioners about the natural gas revolution is focused on the impact of "longer and lower" energy prices; and, secondarily, opportunities within the domestic energy sector. Each of these is crucial for business people to understand, however, the natural gas revolution is about much more. Companies of all sizes, whether they see it or not, are having new opportunities open up for their products and services. Further, the globalization of shale energy will have far reaching influence beyond simply economic factors. Geopolitical considerations and the re-structuring of international relations around shale energy will impact supply chains in a myriad of ways. This book aims to examine these opportunities. Featuring case studies from contemporary companies, this book will be of interest to students, academics, researchers, professionals and policy makers who are seeking to understand the business and global implications of the shale energy revolution.

This book evaluates the potential of the combined use of district heating networks and cogeneration in the European Union (EU). It also proposes measures to remove barriers hindering their widespread implementation, formulates policies for their implementation, and evaluates their economic, energy, and environmental consequences. The book presents a preliminary assessment of the likely cost and the impact of widespread adoption of district heating networks and cogeneration carried out in three cities that represent the variety of climatic conditions in the EU. Based on this assessment, it is estimated that by undertaking the maximum economically feasible implementation across the EU, fuel savings of EURO95M/year would be achieved, representing energy savings of 6,400 petajoules (PJ), which is around 15% of the total final energy consumption in the EU in 2013 (46,214.5 PJ). Using simple and quick calculations and not specific software, the method used allows the evaluation of the potential benefits of retrofitting existing power plants into cogeneration plants and connecting them to nearby heating networks. In light of increasing energy costs and environmental concerns, the book is of interest to heating engineers, city planners, and policy-makers around the globe.

Featuring a collection of informative and descriptive chapters, this book is essential reading for environmental scientists, environmental toxicologists and people from allied fields. The research and its outcomes presented here focus on pollution prevention approaches, clean technologies and toxic use reduction that has the potential for eliminating worker exposure to health risks; and creates healthy and sustainable ecosystems. Readers will discover ways to incorporate prevention in the design of industrial processes that help to eliminate harmful environmental effects while promoting the competitiveness of industries. Issues such as biological control agents for sustainable urban agriculture, safe water and soil health; waste management and utilization in food processing industries, and ranking of Benzene, Toluene, Ethylbenzene and Xylene (BTEX) with respect to ozone formation are addressed in this book. Particular attention is given to interrelated issues associated with global warming and the use of genetically engineered organisms (GEM's) for combating pollution in extreme environments. The authors invite researchers to think through the critical analysis presented here and recommend future pathways for further research.

Solar Power Generation Problems, Solutions, and Monitoring is a valuable resource for researchers, professionals and graduate students interested in solar power system design. Written to serve as a pragmatic resource for solar photovoltaic power systems financing, it outlines real-life, straightforward design methodology. Using numerous examples, illustrations and an easy to follow design methodology, Peter Gevorkian discusses some of the most significant issues that concern solar power generation including: power output; energy monitoring and energy output enhancement; fault detection; fire and life safety hazard mitigation; and detailed hardware, firmware and software analytic solutions required to resolve solar power technology shortcomings. This essential reference also highlights the significant issues associated with large scale solar photovoltaic and solar power generation technology covering design, construction, deployment and fault detection monitoring as well as life safety hazards.

This book is a selection of the best and peer-reviewed articles presented at the CUPUM (Computers in Urban Planning and Urban Management) conference, held in the second week of July 2015 at MIT in Boston, USA. The contributions provide state-of the art overview of the availability and application of Planning Support Systems (PSS) in the framework of Smart Cities.

This book investigates the functioning and ecosystems of biorefineries and assesses the potential of the industrial bioeconomy. The authors present a case study of the biorefinery at Bazancourt Pomacle, near Reims, France, as an outstanding illustration of the creation, work processes, financing, provision of environmental services, competitive benefits and future prospects of a bioeconomy. Analysing the case of Bazancourt Pomacle, the authors show the wide range of products produced by integrated biorefineries such as food, bioenergy, molecules for cosmetics and nutrients for agricultural use. They also analyse Bazancourt Pomacle as an open innovation platform, which encompasses several layers of R&D, including three department chairs from leading engineering and business schools in France. Illustrating a number of global success stories that started in Bazancourt Pomacle, the authors also investigate the provision of pilot- and demonstration plants as inescapable steps in the scaling-up process from the lab to industrial scale. The book provides a systematic overview of the lessons learned, as well as data on an industrial bioeconomy. Investors, decision- makers, public-policy shapers, analysts and scholars will learn about the history, actors, economics, industrial symbiosis, role of cooperatives, R&D and future prospects of a world-class biorefinery and bio-based cluster in Europe.

Presenting an overview of the use of Phase Change Materials (PCMs) within buildings, this book discusses the performance of PCM-enhanced building envelopes. It reviews the most common PCMs suitable for building applications, and discusses PCM encapsulation and packaging methods. In addition to this, it examines a range of PCM-enhanced building products in the process of development as well as examples of whole-building-scale field demonstrations. Further chapters discuss experimental and theoretical analyses (including available software) to determine dynamic thermal and energy performance characteristics of building enclosure components containing PCMs, and present different laboratory and field testing methods. Finally, a wide range of PCM building products are presented which are commercially available worldwide. This book is intended for students and researchers of mechanical, architectural and civil engineering and postgraduate students of energy analysis, dynamic design of building structures, and dynamic testing procedures. It also provides a useful resource for professionals involved in architectural and mechanical-civil engineering design, thermal testing and PCM manufacturing.

This book examines in detail the planning and modelling of local infrastructure like energy systems, including the complexities resulting from various uncertainties. Readers will discover the individual steps involved in infrastructure planning in cities and territories, as well as the primary requirements and supporting quality factors. Further topics covered concern the field of uncertainty and its synergies with infrastructure planning. Theories, methodological backgrounds and concrete case studies will not only help readers to understand the proposed methodologies for modelling and uncertainty analysis, but will also show them how these approaches are implemented in practice.

This book aims to describe the mechanisms of the internal wholesale electricity market in terms of the legal tools and practices used by electricity producers, the most important market participants. In this regard, the focus is on Northwestern Europe. Because of the book’s functional perspective, it is not limited to the external regulation of electricity markets at the EU level and also describes the business models and practices employed by electricity producers. Both the physical and financial marketplaces are examined and topics including electricity supply, balancing, transmission and derivatives are covered. The target for the completion of the EU’s internal electricity market was 2014. The internal wholesale electricity market is very important not only for electricity producers, suppliers and major end consumers but also for network operators, marketplace operators, electricity technology firms, investment firms and market regulators.

This book explores the idea that daily lived experiences of climate change are a crucial missing link in our knowledge that contrasts with scientific understandings of this global problem. It argues that both kinds of knowledge are limiting: the sciences by their disciplines and lived experiences by the boundaries of everyday lives.  Therefore each group needs to engage the other in order to enrich and expand understanding of climate change and what to do about it. Complemented by a rich collection of examples and case studies, this book proposes a novel way of generating and analysing knowledge about climate change and how it may be used. The reader is introduced to new insights where the book: • Provides a framework that explains the variety of simultaneous, co-existing and often contradictory perspectives on climate change. • Reclaims everyday experiential knowledge as crucial for meeting global challenges such as climate change. • Overcomes the science-citizen dichotomy and leads to new ways of examining public engagement with science. Scientists are also human beings with lived experiences that filter their scientific findings into knowledge and actions. • Develops a ‘public action theory of knowledge’ as a tool for exploring how decisions on climate policy and intervention are reached and enacted. While scientists (physical and social) seek to explain climate change and its impacts, millions of people throughout the world experience it personally in their daily lives. The experience might be bad, as during extreme weather, engender hostility when governments attempt mitigation, and sometimes it is benign. This book seeks to understand the complex, often contradictory knowledge dynamics that inform the climate change debate, and is written clearly for a broad audience including lecturers, students, practitioners and activists, indeed anyone who wishes to gain further insight into this far-reaching issue.

Sustainable development is the key for the survival in 21st century. The natural resources are finite and cannot be used with impunity because we are the custodian of these resources and have responsibility to pass these to the next generation. This monumental task requires several major commitments and most important of them is to arrest population explosion which has already reached seven billion. Natural resources like air to breath, food to eat, and water to drink, and fossil fuel to maintain this life style are being overexploited. Unrestrained consuming culture will accelerate undesired situation. This situation will have more dire consequences in resource limited ecosystems like dry lands. Given the severe scarcity of water, ever increasing population and soil salinization out of the box solutions for the provision of food and clean energy is required to spare meager fresh water resources for conventional agriculture. This volume contains a number of articles dealing with halophyte ecology, bio-geography, ecophysiology, hyper-saline soils, biofuels, biosaline agriculture, biosaline landscaping, climate change mitigation, and biodiversity. It also contains the communication of innovative ideas, such as the research into floating mangroves, seagrass terraces, as well as a World Halophyte Garden containing all known salt-tolerant plant species. It is hoped that the information provided will not only advance vegetation science, but that it will truly generate more interdisciplinarity, networking, awareness, and inspire farmers, and agricultural and landscaping stakeholders to seriously engage in halophyte cash crop production in coastal hyper-saline areas.

This book sets out some positive directions to move forward including government policy and regulatory options, an innovative GRID (Greening, Regenerative, Improvement Districts) scheme that can assist with funding and management, and the first steps towards an innovative carbon credit scheme for the built environment. Decarbonising cities is a global agenda with huge significance for the future of urban civilisation. Global demonstrations have shown that technology and design issues are largely solved. However, the mainstreaming of low carbon urban development, particularly at the precinct scale, currently lacks sufficient: standards for measuring carbon covering operational, embodied and transport emissions; assessment and decision-making tools to assist in design options; certifying processes for carbon neutrality within the built environment; and accreditation processes for enabling carbon credits to be generated from precinct-wide urban development. Numerous barriers are currently hindering greater adoption of high performance, low carbon developments, many of which relate to implementation and governance. How to enable and manage precinct-scale renewables and other low carbon technologies within an urban setting is a particular challenge.

This book investigates how a North African solar thermal power plant can be set up under the guidance of European investors (e.g. the Desertec Concept) as a Public Private Partnership (PPP). It outlines the importance of early awareness of contract-related risks, investment risks and dispute settlement, arguing that commercial and investment arbitration are the best tools for settling disputes regarding a large-scale solar thermal project. Furthermore, by comparing institutional and ad hoc arbitration, it shows that the former offers highly suitable support. The latest developments in the area of investment arbitration under EU law and the general acceptance of arbitration in Islamic countries are examined in particular. This book also demonstrates that a solar thermal power plant must meet certain requirements to be considered an investment. These requirements are examined in relation to Art. 25 of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes Convention (ICSID Convention) and respective case law. Overall, the book offers valuable guidelines for investors and host states on how to successfully implement large-scale solar thermal projects.