Because of the oil shocks of the 1970's, great progress was made in renewable energy in the early 1980's. Low oil prices, however, slowed research in this field. Faced with rising prices and the threat of global warming, both utilities and consumers are regaining interest in renewables -- this book is an encyclopediac reference about renewable resources, including hydropower, wind, solar, biomass and hydrogen.
Editors: Thomas B. Johansson, Henrey Kelley, Amulya K. N. Reddy, Robert H. Williams, Laurie Burhnham
Publisher: Island Press
ISBN: 1-55963-138-4
Libraries: Alternative
Year: 1992
Pages: 1160
Faced with the threat of global warming, many of us feel helpless, transfixed like a deer before the headlights of an automobile. Few people are aware that alternative energy sources can be economically competitive with fossil fuels, particularly with recent price increases. This book is a collection of essays by experts in many aspects of renewable energy and is essential for anyone interested in this field.
The strength of this book is the wide range of topics it covers: large and small hydroelectric plants, power from ocean tides and thermal gradients, solar thermal power as well as many variations of photovoltaics, wind, as well as systems for converting biomass (both waste products and plantation crops) into electricity and liquid and gaseous fuels. It also considers the storage and transmission of renewable energy in the form of hydrogen, which, combined with advances in fuel cells, means we could eliminate the global warming contribution of automobiles around 2020. This book contains hard numbers and information about existing energy plants, as well as projections for the future.
If this book has any weakness, it is that it considers energy production at the expense of conservation. Amory Lovins and other authors have pointed out that energy conservation saves money while lowering energy use and global warming gases -- conservation, both in the form of better technology (better cars and better light bulbs) and in lifestyle changes, can more quickly address both energy security and global warming at negative cost. Renewable Energy makes up for this by it's comprehensive coverage of renewable generation options, both for the developed world and for the third world.
