Energy Storage Options and Their Environmental Impact

R. E. Hester · R. M. Harrison

Oct 2018 · Issues in Environmental Science and Technology Book 46 · Royal Society of Chemistry

About this ebook

Recent decades have seen huge growth in the renewable energy sector, spurred on by concerns about climate change and dwindling supplies of fossil fuels. One of the major difficulties raised by an increasing reliance on renewable resources is the inflexibility when it comes to controlling supply in response to demand. For example, solar energy can only be produced during the day. The development of methods for storing the energy produced by renewable sources is therefore crucial to the continued stability of global energy supplies.

However, as with all new technology, it is important to consider the environmental impacts as well as the benefits. This book brings together authors from a variety of different backgrounds to explore the state-of-the-art of large-scale energy storage and examine the environmental impacts of the main categories based on the types of energy stored.

A valuable resource, not just for those working and researching in the renewable energy sector, but also for policymakers around the world.

About the author

Ron Hester is an emeritus professor of chemistry at the University of York. In addition to his research work on a wide range of applications of vibrational spectroscopy, he has been actively involved in environmental chemistry and was a founder member of the Royal Society of Chemistry's Environment Group. His current activities are mainly as an editor and as an external examiner and assessor on courses, individual promotions, and departmental/subject area evaluations both in the UK and abroad. Roy Harrison OBE is Queen Elizabeth II Birmingham Centenary Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Birmingham. In 2004 he was appointed OBE for services to environmental science. Professor Harrison's research interests lie in the field of environment and human health. His main specialism is in air pollution, from emissions through atmospheric chemical and physical transformations to exposure and effects on human health. Much of this work is designed to inform the development of policy.