Handbook of Energy, Volume II takes the wealth of information about historical aspects of energy spread across many books, journals, websites, disciplines, ideologies, and user communities and synthesizes the information in one central repository. This book meets the needs of a diverse readership working in energy, and serves as a vital method of communication among communities including colleges and universities, nongovernmental organizations, government agencies, consulting firms and research institutes of energy, environmental, and public policy issues.

• Interdisciplinary coverage appropriate for scientists in environmental sciences, social and natural sciences, and engineering
• Top Ten lists, written by prominent subject experts, provide personal reflections on key issues
• Chronologies covering 40 different subject areas provide all the significant events in a given field from the geologic past to the present day

Jeremy Leggett gives a personal testimony of the dangers often ignored and incompletely understood - a journey through the human mind, the institutionalization of denial, and the reasons civilizations fail. It is also an account of tantalizing hope, because mobilizing renewables and redeploying energy funding can soften the crash of modern capitalism and set us on a road to renaissance.

The book provides the results of more than fifteen comprehensive energy system analysis studies, examines the large-scale integration of renewable energy into the present system, and presents concrete design examples derived from a dozen renewable energy systems around the globe. Renewable Energy Systems, Second Edition also undertakes the socio-political realities governing the implementation of renewable energy systems by introducing a theoretical framework approach aimed at understanding how major technological changes, such as renewable energy, can be implemented at both the national and international levels.

• Provides an introduction to the technical design of renewable energy systems
• Demonstrates how to analyze the feasibility and efficiency of large-scale systems to help implementers avoid costly trial and error
• Addresses the socio-political challenge of implementing the shift to renewables
• Features a dozen extensive case studies from around the globe that provide real-world templates for new installations

• Written by one of the world’s most renowned experts in solar energy with over thirty years of experience in renewable and particularly solar energy applications
• Provides updated chapters including new sections detailing solar collectors, uncertainties in solar collector performance testing, building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV), thermosiphonic systems performance prediction and solar updraft tower systems
• Includes a new chapter on wind energy systems
• Packed with reference tables and schematic diagrams for the most commonly used systems

• Each potential energy source includes discussions of tradeoffs in economics, environmental, and policy implications
• Examples and cases of implementing each technology are included throughout the book
• Technical discussions are supported with equations, graphs, and tables
• Includes discussions of carbon capture and sequestration as emerging technologies to manage carbon dioxide emissions

Each chapter is written by an expert working in the field and includes copious references for those wishing to study the subject further. Various systems are discussed, including mechanical/kinetic, thermal, electrochemical and other chemical, as well as other emerging technologies. Incorporating the advancements in storing energy as described in this book will help the people of the world further overcome the problems related to future energy and climate change.

• Covers most types of energy storage that is being considered today, and allows comparisons to be made
• Each chapter is written by a world expert in the field, providing the latest developments is this fast moving and vital field
• Covers technical, environmental, social and political aspects related to the storing of energy and in particular renewable energy

Renewable energy technologies and systems are advancing by leaps and bounds, and it’s only a matter of time before renewables replace fossil fuel and nuclear energy sources. Written for practicing engineers, researchers and students alike, this book discusses state-of-the art mathematical and engineering tools for the modeling, simulation and control of renewable and mixed energy systems and related power electronics. Computational methods for multi-domain modeling of integrated energy systems and the solution of power electronics engineering problems are described in detail.

Chapters follow a consistent format, featuring a brief introduction to the theoretical background, a description of problems to be solved, as well as objectives to be achieved. Multiple block diagrams, electrical circuits, and mathematical analysis and/or computer code are provided throughout. And each chapter concludes with discussions of lessons learned, recommendations for further studies, and suggestions for experimental work.

Key topics covered in detail include:

• Integration of the most usual sources of electrical power and related thermal systems
• Equations for energy systems and power electronics focusing on state-space and power circuit oriented simulations
• MATLAB® and Simulink® models and functions and their interactions with real-world implementations using microprocessors and microcontrollers
• Numerical integration techniques, transfer-function modeling, harmonic analysis, and power quality performance assessment
• MATLAB®/Simulink®, Power Systems Toolbox, and PSIM for the simulation of power electronic circuits, including for renewable energy sources such as wind and solar sources

Written by distinguished experts in the field, Integration of Renewable Sources of Energy, 2nd Edition is a valuable working resource for practicing engineers interested in power electronics, power systems, power quality, and alternative or renewable energy. It is also a valuable text/reference for undergraduate and graduate electrical engineering students.

This Third Edition is extensively updated in light of these developments, while maintaining the book’s emphasis on fundamentals, complemented by analysis of applications. Renewable energy helps secure national resources, mitigates pollution and climate change, and provides cost effective services. These benefits are analysed and illustrated with case studies and worked examples. The book recognises the importance of cost effectiveness and efficiency of end-use. Each chapter begins with fundamental scientific theory, and then considers applications, environmental impact and socio-economic aspects before concluding with Quick Questions for self-revision and Set Problems. The book includes Reviews of basic theory underlying renewable energy technologies, such as electrical power, fluid dynamics, heat transfer and solid-state physics. Common symbols and cross-referencing apply throughout; essential data are tabulated in appendices.

An associated eResource provides supplementary material on particular topics, plus a solutions guide to Set Problems.

Renewable Energy Resources supports multi-disciplinary master degrees in science and engineering, and specialist modules in first degrees. Practising scientists and engineers who have not had a comprehensive training in renewable energy will find it a useful introductory text and a reference book.

• Comparative financial analysis of efficiency vs. increased generation
• Case studies from four continents highlight the examples of successful technologies and projects
• Explains how existing and developing regulatory frameworks impact cost and implementation

This book takes on a central quandary in the study of energy and environmental policy: What myths continue to exist in American culture concerning energy, the environment, and society? It enrolls twenty-four of the nation’s top experts working on energy policy in industry, government laboratories, utilities, nonprofit organizations, and universities to debunk and contextualize thirteen energy myths relating to electric power, renewable energy, energy efficiency, transportation, and climate change.

While the book focuses on the American experience, it will be of interest to those working in the fields of energy policy, energy and the environment, and technology assessment worldwide.

'This is a brilliant, bold, and fascinating book ...that should be read by anybody even remotely concerned about energy, the environment, or the future of American society.’

Art Rosenfeld, Commissioner, California Energy Commission and recipient of the 2006 Enrico Fermi Award

‘...This work is a must-read for anyone interested in American energy policy.’

Kateri Callahan, President, Alliance to Save Energy

‘...By collecting the best minds to debunk the greatest of these myths, Sovacool and Brown have brought us a step closer to finding a national energy policy based on common sense.’

Chris Cooper, Executive Director, Network for New Energy Choices

‘... Sovacool and Brown provide a bold and imaginative way forward.’

John A. "Skip" Laitner, Visiting Fellow and Senior Economist, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy

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.

How did the United States become the world's largest consumer of energy? David Nye shows that this is less a question about the development of technology than it is a question about the development of culture. In Consuming Power, Nye uses energy as a touchstone to examine the lives of ordinary people engaged in normal activities. He looks at how these activities changed as new energy systems were constructed, from colonial times to recent years. He also shows how, as Americans incorporated new machines and processes into their lives, they became ensnared in power systems that were not easily changed: they made choices about the conduct of their lives, and those choices accumulated to produce a consuming culture. Nye examines a sequence of large systems that acquired and then lost technological momentum over the course of American history, including water power, steam power, electricity, the internal-combustion engine, atomic power, and computerization. He shows how each system became part of a larger set of social constructions through its links to the home, the factory, and the city. The result is a social history of America as seen through the lens of energy consumption.

• The six core energy techniques that every healer should know
• Energetic diagnosis practices to determine which kind of modality will be most effective for specific health issues
• Setting strong and flexible energetic boundaries, with special guidance for those in the healing professions
• Techniques for working with the subtle aspects of the body, emotions, and the subconscious mind
• Dozens of practices for healing through the chakras, the meridians, chi, breathwork, auric fields, sacred geometry, acupressure, music, and much more

As Cyndi Dale writes, all medicine is energy medicine—which is why subtle energy practices can be used to complement and enhance any approach to healing or self-care. Presented with Cyndi Dale's thorough scholarship and clear writing style, The Subtle Body Practice Manual provides professionals and laypersons alike with an indispensible resource on the many varieties and applications of energetic care—so you can begin using these powerful practices in your own life.

In The Clean Tech Revolution, authors Ron Pernick and Clint Wilder identify the major forces that have pushed clean tech from back-to-the-earth utopian dream to its current revolution among the inner circles of corporate boardrooms, on Wall Street trading floors, and in government offices around the globe. By highlighting eight major clean-tech sectors—solar energy, wind power, biofuels and biomaterials, green buildings, personal transportation, the smart grid, mobile applications, and water filtration—they uncover how investors, entrepreneurs, and individuals can profit from this next wave of technological innovation. Pernick and Wilder shine the spotlight on the winners among technologies, companies, and regions that are likely to reap the greatest benefits from clean tech—and they show you why the time to act is now.

Groundbreaking and authoritative, The Clean Tech Revolution is the must-read book to understand and profit from the clean technologies that are reshaping our fast-changing world.

No one understands the frackers—their ambitions, personalities, and foibles—better than Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman. His exclusive access drives this dramatic narrative, which stretches from North Dakota to Texas to Wall Street.

"I wait for new Smil books the way some people wait for the next 'Star Wars' movie. In his latest book, Energy and Civilization: A History, he goes deep and broad to explain how innovations in humans' ability to turn energy into heat, light, and motion have been a driving force behind our cultural and economic progress over the past 10,000 years.
—Bill Gates, Gates Notes, Best Books of the Year

Energy is the only universal currency; it is necessary for getting anything done. The conversion of energy on Earth ranges from terra-forming forces of plate tectonics to cumulative erosive effects of raindrops. Life on Earth depends on the photosynthetic conversion of solar energy into plant biomass. Humans have come to rely on many more energy flows—ranging from fossil fuels to photovoltaic generation of electricity—for their civilized existence. In this monumental history, Vaclav Smil provides a comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization.

Humans are the only species that can systematically harness energies outside their bodies, using the power of their intellect and an enormous variety of artifacts—from the simplest tools to internal combustion engines and nuclear reactors. The epochal transition to fossil fuels affected everything: agriculture, industry, transportation, weapons, communication, economics, urbanization, quality of life, politics, and the environment. Smil describes humanity's energy eras in panoramic and interdisciplinary fashion, offering readers a magisterial overview. This book is an extensively updated and expanded version of Smil's Energy in World History (1994). Smil has incorporated an enormous amount of new material, reflecting the dramatic developments in energy studies over the last two decades and his own research over that time.

The same Silicon Valley ecosystem that created bit-based technologies that have disrupted atom-based industries is now creating bit- and electron-based technologies that will disrupt atom-based energy industries. 

Clean Disruption projections (based on technology cost curves, business model innovation as well as product innovation) show that by 2030: 
- All new energy will be provided by solar or wind. 
- All new mass-market vehicles will be electric. 
- All of these vehicles will be autonomous (self-driving) or semi-autonomous. 
- The new car market will shrink by 80%. 
- Even assuming that EVs don't kill the gasoline car by 2030, the self-driving car will shrink the new car market by 80%. 
- Gasoline will be obsolete. Nuclear is already obsolete. 
- Up to 80% of highways will be redundant. 
- Up to 80% of parking spaces will be redundant. 
- The concept of individual car ownership will be obsolete. 
- The Car Insurance industry will be disrupted. 

The Stone Age did not end because we ran out of rocks. It ended because a disruptive technology ushered in the Bronze Age. The era of centralized, command-and-control, extraction-resource-based energy sources (oil, gas, coal and nuclear) will not end because we run out of petroleum, natural gas, coal, or uranium. It will end because these energy sources, the business models they employ, and the products that sustain them will be disrupted by superior technologies, product architectures, and business models. 

This is a technology-based disruption reminiscent of how the cell phone, Internet, and personal computer swept away industries such as landline telephony, publishing, and mainframe computers. Just like those technology disruptions flipped the architecture of information and brought abundant, cheap and participatory information, the clean disruption will flip the architecture of energy and bring abundant, cheap and participatory energy. 

Just like those previous technology disruptions, the Clean Disruption is inevitable and it will be swift. 

In Solar Revolution, fund manager and former corporate buyout specialist Travis Bradford argues—on the basis of standard business and economic forecasting models—that over the next two decades solar energy will increasingly become the best and cheapest choice for most electricity and energy applications. Solar Revolution outlines the path by which the transition to solar technology and sustainable energy practices will occur.

Developments in the photovoltaic (PV) industry over the last ten years have made direct electricity generation from PV cells a cost-effective and feasible energy solution, despite the common view that PV technology appeals only to a premium niche market. Bradford shows that PV electricity today has become the choice of hundreds of thousands of mainstream homeowners and businesses in many markets worldwide, including Japan, Germany, and the American Southwest. Solar energy will eventually be the cheapest source of energy in nearly all markets and locations because PV can bypass the aging and fragile electricity grid and deliver its power directly to the end user, fundamentally changing the underlying economics of energy. As the scale of PV production increases and costs continue to decline at historic rates, demand for PV electricity will outpace supply of systems for years to come. Ultimately, the shift from fossil fuels to solar energy will take place not because solar energy is better for the environment or energy security, or because of future government subsidies or as yet undeveloped technology. The solar revolution is already occurring through decisions made by self-interested energy users. The shift to solar energy is inevitable and will be as transformative as the last century's revolutions in information and communication technologies.