This multi-disciplinary volume presents information on the state-of-the-art in sustainable energy technologies key to tackling the world’s energy challenges and achieving environmentally benign solutions. Its unique amalgamation of the latest technical information, research findings and examples of successfully applied new developments in the area of sustainable energy will be of keen interest to engineers, students, practitioners, scientists and researchers working with sustainable energy technologies. Problem statements, projections, new concepts, models, experiments, measurements and simulations from not only engineering and science, but disciplines as diverse as ecology, education, economics and information technology are included, in order to create a truly holistic vision of the sustainable energy field. The contributions feature coverage of topics including solar and wind energy, biomass and biofuels, waste-to-energy, renewable fuels, geothermal and hydrogen power, efficiency gains in fossil fuels and energy storage technologies including batteries and fuel cells.

The United States and China are the world's top two energy consumers and, as of 2010, the two largest economies. Consequently, they have a decisive role to play in the world's clean energy future. Both countries are also motivated by related goals, namely diversified energy portfolios, job creation, energy security, and pollution reduction, making renewable energy development an important strategy with wide-ranging implications. Given the size of their energy markets, any substantial progress the two countries make in advancing use of renewable energy will provide global benefits, in terms of enhanced technological understanding, reduced costs through expanded deployment, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to conventional generation from fossil fuels. Within this context, the U.S. National Academies, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), reviewed renewable energy development and deployment in the two countries, to highlight prospects for collaboration across the research to deployment chain and to suggest strategies which would promote more rapid and economical attainment of renewable energy goals. Main findings and concerning renewable resource assessments, technology development, environmental impacts, market infrastructure, among others, are presented. Specific recommendations have been limited to those judged to be most likely to accelerate the pace of deployment, increase cost-competitiveness, or shape the future market for renewable energy. The recommendations presented here are also pragmatic and achievable.

Reactor Process Design in Sustainable Energy Technology compiles and explains current developments in reactor and process design in sustainable energy technologies, including optimization and scale-up methodologies and numerical methods. Sustainable energy technologies that require more efficient means of converting and utilizing energy can help provide for burgeoning global energy demand while reducing anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions associated with energy production. The book, contributed by an international team of academic and industry experts in the field, brings numerous reactor design cases to readers based on their valuable experience from lab R&D scale to industry levels. It is the first to emphasize reactor engineering in sustainable energy technology discussing design. It provides comprehensive tools and information to help engineers and energy professionals learn, design, and specify chemical reactors and processes confidently. - Emphasis on reactor engineering in sustainable energy technology - Up-to-date overview of the latest reaction engineering techniques in sustainable energy topics - Expert accounts of reactor types, processing, and optimization - Figures and tables designed to comprehensively present concepts and proceduresHundreds of citations drawing on many most recent and previously published works on the subject

The book covers the current status of renewable energy technology, such as solar, wind, hydro and geothermal power engineering and biomass conversion. It focusses on technical challenges and potential future developments in electricity generation. electrical vehicles, heating and cooling, industrial processes and rural electrification. Keywords: Solar Energy, Wind Energy, Wind Farms. Hydropower, Hydroelectric Dams, Geothermal Energy, Biomass Energy, Agricultural Residues, Organic Waste, Electricity Transportation, Global Energy Systems.

This book presents a state-of-the-art compilation focusing on both technological and policy aspects of sustainable energy production and consumption, which deals with issues like the need for and planning of smart cities, alternative transport fuel options, sustainable power production, pollution control technologies etc. The book comprises contributions from experts from all over the world, and addresses energy sustainability from different viewpoints. Specifically, the book focuses on energy sustainability in the Indian scenario with a background of the global perspective. Contributions from academia, policy makers and industry are included to address the challenge from different perspectives. The contents of this book will prove useful to researchers, professionals, and policy makers working in the area of green and sustainable energy.

This book opens with a brief introduction to renewable energy and the advantages of solar energy systems, an overview of concentrated solar power (CSP) system technologies and modeling, and the application of artificial neural network (ANN) technologies in various solar field systems. Later chapters cover data and operation methods of central tower receiver power plants (CTRPP), important models of ANN techniques used in solar energy fields, accurate methods for modeling CTRPP, the economics of solar energy systems, the CSP impacts on the penetration level of photovoltaic (PV) systems, and a look at the reliability of systems using case studies on PV systems and hybrid PV and CSP systems. Provides an introduction to renewable energy and the advantages of solar energy systems Outlines methods for modeling central tower receiver power plants Includes case studies on photovoltaic (PV) and hybrid PV and concentrated solar power systems

The search for cleaner, cheaper, smaller and more efficient energy technologies has to a large extent been motivated by the development of new materials. The aim of this collection of articles is therefore to focus on what materials-based solutions can offer and show how the rationale design and improvement of their physical and chemical properties can lead to energy-production alternatives that have the potential to compete with existing technologies. In terms of alternative means to generate electricity that utilize renewable energy sources, the most dramatic breakthroughs for both mobile (i.e., transportation) and stationary applications are taking place in the fields of solar and fuel cells. And from an energy-storage perspective, exciting developments can be seen emerging from the fields of rechargeable batteries and hydrogen storage.