This book presents nine chapters based on fundamental and applied research of alternative energies. At the present time, the challenge is that technology has to come up with solutions that can provide environmentally friendly energy supply options that are able to cover the current world energy demand. Experts around the world are working on these issues for providing new solutions that will break the existing technological barriers. This book aims to address key pillars in the alternative energy field, such as: biomass energy, hydrogen energy, solar energy, wind energy, hydroelectric power, geothermal energy and their environmental implications, with the most updated progress for each pillar. It also includes the life cycle assessment (LCA) and thermoeconomic analysis (TA) as tools for evaluating and optimising environmental and cost subjects. Chapters are organized into fundamental research, applied research and future trends; and written for engineers, academic researches and scientists.

This book provides specific topics intending to contribute to an improved knowledge on Technology Evaluation and Selection in a Life Cycle Perspectives. Although each chapter will present possible approaches and solutions, there are no recipes for success. Each reader will find his/her balance in applying the different topics to his/her own specific situation. Case studies presented throughout will help in deciding what fits best to each situation, but most of all any ultimate success will come out of the interplay between the available solutions and the specific problem or opportunity the reader is faced with.

This book focuses on Renewable Energy (RE) governance - the institutions, plans, policies and stakeholders that are involved in RE implementation - and the complexities and challenges associated with this much discussed energy area. Whilst RE technologies have advanced and become cheaper, governance schemes rarely support those technologies in an efficient and cost-effective way. To illustrate the problem, global case-studies delicately demonstrate successes and failures of renewable energy governance. RE here is considered from a number of perspectives: as a regional geopolitical agent, as a tool to meet national RE targets and as a promoter of local development. The book considers daring insights on RE transitions, governmental policies as well as financial tools, such as Feed-in-Tariffs; along with their inefficiencies and costs. This comprehensive probing of RE concludes with a treatment of what we call the "Mega-What" question - who is benefitting the most from RE and how society can get the best deal? After reading this book, the reader will have been in contact with all aspects of RE governance and be closer to the pulse of RE mechanisms. The reader should also be able to contribute more critically to the dialogue about RE rather than just reinforce the well-worn adage that "RE is a good thing to happen".

For the efficient utilization of energy resources and the minimization of environmental damage, thermoelectric materials can play an important role by converting waste heat into electricity directly. Nanostructured thermoelectric materials have received much attention recently due to the potential for enhanced properties associated with size effects and quantum confinement. "Nanoscale Thermoelectrics" describes the theory underlying these phenomena, as well as various thermoelectric materials and nanostructures such as carbon nanotubes, SiGe nanowires, and graphene nanoribbons. Chapters written by leading scientists throughout the world are intended to create a fundamental bridge between thermoelectrics and nanotechnology, and to stimulate readers' interest in developing new types of thermoelectric materials and devices for power generation and other applications. "Nanoscale Thermoelectrics" is both a comprehensive introduction to the field and a guide to further research, and can be recommended for Physics, Electrical Engineering, and Materials Science departments.

Multicriteria Analysis and LCA Techniques introduces the reader to the basic principles of multicriteria analysis (MCA) and life cycle assessment (LCA) techniques. The use of these tools is rapidly becoming essential in any feasibility study for comparing different solutions, selecting the most suitable ones, and for analyzing the interface of economy and environment. The main feature of Multicriteria Analysis and LCA Techniques is the application of a new approach to the analysis of energy balance and environmental impact of agro-industrial production chains. It gives detailed descriptions of a number of food and non-food agro-industrial applications of MCA and LCA, thereby providing the reader with practical examples of the implementation of these tools in the field of agro-industry. Multicriteria Analysis and LCA Techniques represents a subsidiary reference book for both undergraduate and graduate students, and can also be used for basic or applied academic research.

Oil is the lifeblood of modern industrial economies. Petroleum powers virtually all motorized transport, which in turn enables most economic activities and provides mobility for citizens. But oil is a finite resource that is steadily depleting. In the past decade, the phenomenon of global peak oil - the fact that annual world oil production must at some point reach a maximum and then decline - has emerged as one of the twenty-first century's greatest challenges. South Africa imports over two-thirds of its petroleum fuels, and history has shown that oil price shocks generally translate into a weakening currency, rising consumer prices, increasing joblessness and a slow-down in economic activity. This book examines the implications of peak oil for socioeconomic welfare in South Africa and proposes a wide range of strategies and policies for mitigating and adapting to the likely impacts. It contains a wealth of data in tables and figures that illustrate South Africa's oil dependencies and vulnerabilities to oil shocks. The material is presented from a systems perspective and is organized in key thematic areas including energy, transport, agriculture, macro-economy and society. The study highlights the risks, uncertainties and difficult choices South Africa faces if it is to tackle its oil addiction, and thereby serves as an example for researchers, planners and policy-makers in the developing world who will sooner or later confront similar challenges. This case study brings a fresh southern perspective to an issue of global importance, and shows how the era of flattening and then declining global oil supplies may be a pivotal period in which either the project of industrialization progressively runs out of steam, or societies are able to undertake a proactive transition to a more sustainable future.

This book aims to provide a rigorous yet pragmatic approach to the valuation and management of investments in the energy sector.

Time and uncertainty pervade most if not all issues relevant to energy assets. They run from the early stage of prototype and demonstration to the ultimate abandonment and decommissioning.

Risk in particular appears in several areas; thus, one can distinguish technical risk from financial risk. Furthermore, the extent to which one can react to them is different (just think of price risk and regulation risk). Markets in general, and financial markets in particular, regularly put a price on a number of assets which differ in their return/risk characteristics. And academia has developed sound financial principles for valuation purposes in a number of contexts.

Nonetheless, the physical characteristics of the assets involved also play a key role in their valuation if only because of the restrictions that they entail.

There are some instances in which the practitioner/researcher is able to come up with an analytical solution to the valuation problem. Typically, however, these instances are limited because of their relying on stylized facts or idealized frameworks. Unfortunately, many relevant instances lack analytical solutions, so one must resort to numerical methods. The book clearly explains how to implement them in a meaningful way. Their usefulness is further enhanced when numerical estimates of relevant parameters are derived from actual market prices (as long as these are available and reliable).

The book starts from the basics of valuation in a dynamic, certain context. The second part then considers uncertainty and introduces a number of useful results and tools to grapple effectively with it. The last part applies these tools to the valuation of energy assets in a sequential manner, i.e. by considering one, two and three sources of risk. The last chapter provides examples of joint optimal management and value maximization in conventional power plants.

This book presents an overview of the risks involved in modern electricity production, delivery and trading, including technical risk in production, transportation and delivery, operational risk for the system operators, market risks for traders, and political and other long term risks in strategic management.Using decision making under uncertainty as a methodological background, the book is divided into four parts, with Part I focusing on energy markets, particularly electricity markets.Topics include a nontechnical overview of energy markets and their main properties, basic price models for energy commodity prices, and modeling approaches for electricity price processes.

Part II looks at optimal decisions in managing energy systems, including hydropower dispatch models, cutting plane algorithms and approximative dynamic programming; hydro-thermal production; renewable; stochastic investments and operational optimization models for natural gas transport; decision making in operating electricity networks; and investment in extending energy production systems.

Part III explores pricing, including electricity swing options and the pricing of derivatives with volume control. Part IV looks at long-term and political risks, including energy systems under aspects of climate change, and catastrophic operational risks, particularly risks from terrorist attacks."

This book presents an overall picture of both B2B and B2C marketing strategies, concepts and tools, in the aeronautics sector. This is a significant update to an earlier book successfully published in the nineties which was released in Europe, China, and the USA. It addresses the most recent trends such as Social Marketing and the internet, Customer Orientation, Project Marketing and Con current Engineering, Coopetition, and Extended Enterprise. Aerospace Marketing Management is the first marketing handbook richly illustrated with executive and expert inputs as well as examples from parts suppliers, aircraft builders, airlines, helicopter manufacturers, aeronautics service providers, airports, defence and military companies, and industrial integrators (tier-1, tier-2). This book is designed as a ready reference for professionals and graduates from both Engineering and Business Schools.

Nanofins Science and Technology describes the heat transfer effectiveness of polymer coolants and their fundamental interactions with carbon nanotube coatings that act as nanofins. Heat transfer at micro/nano-scales has attracted significant attention in contemporary literature. This has been primarily driven by industrial requirements where significant decrease in the size of electronic devices/chips with concomitant enhancement in the heat flux have caused challenging needs for cooling of these platforms. With quantum effects kicking in, traditional cooling techniques need to be replaced with more effective technologies. A promising technique is to enhance heat transfer by surface texturing using nanoparticle coatings or engineered nanostructures. These nanostructures are termed as nanofins because they augment heat transfer by a combination of surface area enhancement as well as liquid-solid interactions at the molecular scale.

"Thermo-Fluid Behaviour of Periodic Cellular Metals" introduces the study of coupled thermo-fluid behaviour of cellular metals with periodic structure in response to thermal loads, which is an interdisciplinary research area that requires a concurrent-engineering approach. The book, for the first time, systematically adopts experimental, numerical, and analytical approaches, presents the fluid flow and heat transfer in periodic cellular metals under forced convection conditions, aiming to establish structure-property relationships for tailoring material structures to achieve properties and performance levels that are customized for defined multifunctional applications. The book, as a textbook and reference book, is intended for both academic and industrial people, including graduate students, researchers and engineers.

Dr. Tian Jian Lu is a professor at the School of Aerospace, Xi an Jiaotong University, Xi an, China. Dr. Feng Xu is a professor at the Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, Xi an Jiaotong University. Dr. Ting Wen is now an engineer at Shell Global Solutions Inc. Dr. Lu and Dr. Xu are also affiliated with Biomedical Engineering and Biomechanics Center, Xi an Jiaotong University."

Inspired by a new revival of worldwide interest in extra-high-voltage (EHV) and ultra-high-voltage (UHV) transmission, High Voltage Engineering merges the latest research with the extensive experience of the best in the field to deliver a comprehensive treatment of electrical insulation systems for the next generation of utility engineers and electric power professionals. The book offers extensive coverage of the physical basis of high-voltage engineering, from insulation stress and strength to lightning attachment and protection and beyond. Presenting information critical to the design, selection, testing, maintenance, and operation of a myriad of high-voltage power equipment, this must-have text: Discusses power system overvoltages, electric field calculation, and statistical analysis of ionization and breakdown phenomena essential for proper planning and interpretation of high-voltage tests Considers the breakdown of gases (SF6), liquids (insulating oil), solids, and composite materials, as well as the breakdown characteristics of long air gaps Describes insulation systems currently used in high-voltage engineering, including air insulation and insulators in overhead power transmission lines, gas-insulated substation (GIS) and cables, oil-paper insulation in power transformers, paper-oil insulation in high-voltage cables, and polymer insulation in cables Examines contemporary practices in insulation coordination in association with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) definition and the latest standards Explores high-voltage testing and measuring techniques, from generation of test voltages to digital measuring methods With an emphasis on handling practical situations encountered in the operation of high-voltage power equipment, High Voltage Engineering provides readers with a detailed, real-world understanding of electrical insulation systems, including the various factors affecting-and the actual means of evaluating-insulation performance and their application in the establishment of technical specifications.

The trade of global bioenergy commodities, such as ethanol, biodiesel and wood pellets has been growing exponentially in the past decade, and have by 2013 reached true "commodity" volumes, i.e. tens of millions of tonnes traded each year, and billions (both in US$/ ) of annual turnover.

IEA Bioenergy Task 40 was founded in 2004 and is now in its 4th triennium. For the past 9 years, task 40 has monitored the developments in international bioenergy trade, including the organization of about 20 workshops on trade-related topics, and the publication of over 100 studies, country reports, newsletters, etc. The amount of material produced over the years and insights gained in how biomass markets and international trade of biomass and biofuels has developed is impressive. Besides that the group has produced overviews and insights, also a large amount of practical experience has been brought together in what works and what doesn't. Last but not least, based on all this, there are clear(er) views on how to proceed to build working sustainable international biomass markets in the future. This book compiles those lessons and insights into an easily accessible book publication."""

This book explains the engineering required to bring geothermal resources into use. The book covers specifically engineering aspects that are unique to geothermal engineering, such as measurements in wells and their interpretation, transport of near-boiling water through long pipelines, turbines driven by fluids other than steam, and project economics. The explanations are reinforced by drawing comparisons with other energy industries.

This book captures selected peer reviewed papers presented at the 5th International Conference on Sustainable Automotive Technologies, ICSAT 2013, held in Ingolstadt, Germany. ICSAT is the state-of-the-art conference in the field of new technologies for transportation.

The book brings together the work of international researchers and practitioners under the following interrelated headings: fuel transportation and storage, material recycling, manufacturing and management costs, engines and emission reduction.

The book provides a very good overview of research and development activities focused on new technologies and approaches capable of meeting the challenges to sustainable mobility.

Lives in Peril demonstrates how and why seafarers are a vulnerable group of workers. It argues they are made so by the organisation and structure of their employment; the prioritisation of profit over safety by the actors that engage and control their labour; the limits of enforcement of the regulatory framework that is in place to protect them; and by their weakness as collective actors in relation to capital. The consequences of this vulnerability are seen in data on their occupationally-related morbidity and mortality - evidence that probably only represents a partial picture of the actual extent of the physical, mental and emotional harm resulting from work at sea. This volume's central argument is that this situation is likely to remain broadly unchanged as long as global maritime governance and regulation remains in thrall to the neo-liberal economic and political arguments that drive globalisation, and fails to enforce regulatory standards more robustly.

Due to a huge concentration of electromagnetic fields and eddy currents, large power equipment and systems are prone to crushing forces, overheating, and overloading. Luckily, power failures due to disturbances like these can be predicted and/or prevented. Based on the success of internationally acclaimed computer programs, such as the authors' own RNM-3D, Engineering Electrodynamics: Electric Machine, Transformer, and Power Equipment Design explains how to implement industry-proven modeling and design techniques to solve complex electromagnetic phenomena. Considering recent progress in magnetic and superconducting materials as well as modern methods of mechatronics and computer science, this theory- and application-driven book: Analyzes materials structure and 3D fields, taking into account magnetic and thermal nonlinearities Supplies necessary physical insight for the creation of electromagnetic and electromechanical high power equipment models Describes parameters for electromagnetic calculation of the structural parts of transformers, electric machines, apparatuses, and other electrical equipment Covers power frequency 50-60 Hz (worldwide and US) equipment applications Includes examples, case studies, and homework problems Engineering Electrodynamics: Electric Machine, Transformer, and Power Equipment Design provides engineers, students, and academia with a thorough understanding of the physics, principles, modeling, and design of contemporary industrial devices.

This thesis describes a new approach to the construction of "solar cells." Following nature's example, this approach has the goal to find a biomimetic self-assembling dye, whose aggregates can mimic the natural light-harvesting system of special photosynthetic active bacteria. The thesis investigates methods to control the self-assembly such that suitable dye aggregates are formed with high internal order and size-confinement. The dye aggregates can be implemented into a new type of "solar cells," designed to combine the advantages of "hybrid solar cells" and "solid-state dye-sensitized solar cells" (ss-DSSCs): dye aggregate solar cells (DASCs). This book describes the construction and first tests of a prototype for DASCs on the basis of the investigated dye aggregates. The described approach has the advantage that it will enable to build up a light-harvesting system fully synthetically in large scale in order to realize low-cost, light-weight and environmentally friendly solar cells - a worthwhile goal towards the exploitation of clean energy from sunlight.

This book outlines many of the techniques involved in materials development and characterization for photoelectrochemical (PEC) - for example, proper metrics for describing material performance, how to assemble testing cells and prepare materials for assessment of their properties, and how to perform the experimental measurements needed to achieve reliable results towards better scientific understanding. For each technique, proper procedure, benefits, limitations, and data interpretation are discussed. Consolidating this information in a short, accessible, and easy to read reference guide will allow researchers to more rapidly immerse themselves into PEC research and also better compare their results against those of other researchers to better advance materials development. This book serves as a "how-to" guide for researchers engaged in or interested in engaging in the field of photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting. PEC water splitting is a rapidly growing field of research in which the goal is to develop materials which can absorb the energy from sunlight to drive electrochemical hydrogen production from the splitting of water. The substantial complexity in the scientific understanding and experimental protocols needed to sufficiently pursue accurate and reliable materials development means that a large need exists to consolidate and standardize the most common methods utilized by researchers in this field.

The authors have tried to strike a balance between a short book chapter and a very detailed book for subject experts. There are three prime reasons behind for doing so: first, the field is quite interdisciplinary and requires simplified presentation for a person from non-parent discipline. The second reason for this short-version of a full book is that both the authors have seen students and technically oriented people, who were searching for this type of book on hydro energy. The third reason and motivation was considering engineers who are starting their career in hydro energy sector. This book is targeted to present a good starting background and basic understanding for such professionals.

Electric circuits, and their electronic circuit extensions, are found in all electrical and electronic equipment; including: household equipment, lighting, heating, air conditioning, control systems in both homes and commercial buildings, computers, consumer electronics, and means of transportation, such as cars, buses, trains, ships, and airplanes. Electric circuit analysis is essential for designing all these systems. Electric circuit analysis is a foundation for all hardware courses taken by students in electrical engineering and allied fields, such as electronics, computer hardware, communications and control systems, and electric power. This book is intended to help students master basic electric circuit analysis, as an essential component of their professional education. Furthermore, the objective of this book is to approach circuit analysis by developing a sound understanding of fundamentals and a problem-solving methodology that encourages critical thinking.

Sustainable energy services to customers - a balanced choice and coordination of energy generated by traditional and alternative sources - are the subject of this new innovative book. The myriad factors involved in modeling an effective sustainable power system are overwhelming. The Green Islands project represents a decade of work by over a dozen researchers who have developed a model designed to utilize the potential of distributed clean resources. The key is the proper use of Information Technology (IT).Sited on two islands in the Azores, the project developed the model of careful forecasting of demand and supply, down to the minute, coordinating the output of conventional power plants, wind energy, fly wheels, hydroelectricity, demand reduction, and even plug-in electric vehicles to take full advantage of the clean resources available. The energy contingencies of the remote islands are not unique. The issues of integrating promising clean technologies, such as wind, into a complex power grid are challenging in geographically far-flung, island-scale, power systems.
Model-based sensing, communications, and decision-making algorithms to coordinate adaptive load management (ALM) could enable customers to utilize just-in-time (JIT), just-in-place (JIP), and just-in-context (JIC) energy resources. The distribution of flexible and efficient energy to customers is the goal. The model the authors have developed could change the way power portfolios are built. A new perspective for optimization of green energy is presented in this book. Additional data provided online via Springer represents a repository of real-world electric energy systems and its IT-enabled smarts."

The road vehicle of the future will embrace innovations from three major automotive technology fields: driver assistance systems, vehicle networking and alternative propulsion. Smart systems such as adaptive ICT components and MEMS devices, novel network architectures, integrated sensor systems, intelligent interfaces and functional materials form the basis of these features and permit their successful and synergetic integration. They increasingly appear to be the key enabling technologies for safe and green road mobility. For more than fifteen years the International Forum on Advanced Microsystems for Automotive Applications (AMAA) has been successful in detecting novel trends and in discussing the technological implications from early on. The topic of the AMAA 2013 will be Smart Systems for Safe and Green Vehicles . This book contains peer-reviewed papers written by leading engineers and researchers which all address the ongoing research and novel developments in the field.

www.amaa.de

Integrated Resource Strategic Planning and Power Demand-Side Management elaborates two important methods - Integrated Resource Strategic Planning (IRSP) and Demand Side Management (DSM) - in terms of methodology modeling, case studies and lessons learned. This book introduces a prospective and realistic theory of the IRSP method and includes typical best practices of DSM for energy conservation and emission reduction in different countries. It can help energy providers and governmental decision-makers formulate policies and make plans for energy conservation and emission reduction, and can help power consumers reduce costs and participate in DSM projects. Zhaoguang Hu is the vice president and chief energy specialist at the State Grid Energy Research Institute, and the head of the Power Supply and Demand Research Laboratory in China.

Sustainable Automotive Energy System in China aims at identifying and addressing the key issues of automotive energy in China in a systematic way, covering demography, economics, technology and policy, based on systematic and in-depth, multidisciplinary and comprehensive studies. Five scenarios of China's automotive energy development are created to analyze the possible contributions in the fields of automotive energy, vehicle fuel economy improvement, electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles and the 2nd generation biofuel development. Thanks to this book, readers can gain a better understanding of the nature of China's automotive energy development and be informed about: 1) the current status of automotive energy consumption, vehicle technology development, automotive energy technology development and policy; 2) the future of automotive energy development, fuel consumption, propulsion technology penetration and automotive energy technology development, and 3) the pathways of sustainable automotive energy transformation in China, in particular, the technological and the policy-related options. This book is intended for researchers, engineers and graduates students in the low-carbon transportation and environmental protection field. China Automotive Energy Research Center (CAERC), Tsinghua University, established in 2008, is a university-wide interdisciplinary automotive energy research institution affiliated to Laboratory of Low Carbon Energy (LCE), Tsinghua University. More than 30 researchers are working at CAERC, including six full professors. CAERC's mission is to create and disseminate sustainable automotive energy knowledge, research and development of integrated automotive energy system assessment methodologies and models, and provide technological and policy options for sustainable automotive energy system transformation in China and the world.