The market and policy impetus to install increasingly utility-scale solar systems, or solar farms (sometimes known as solar parks or ranches), has seen products and applications develop ahead of the collective industry knowledge and experience. Recently however, the market has matured and investment opportunites for utility-scale solar farms or parks as part of renewable energy policies have made the sector more attractive. This book brings together the latest technical, practical and fina...

Solar electricity – or photovoltaics (PV) – is the world's fastest growing energy technology. It can be used on a wide variety of scales, from single dwellings to utility-scale solar farms providing power for whole communities. It can be integrated into existing electricity grids with relative simplicity, meaning that in times of low solar energy users can continue to draw power from the grid, while power can be fed or sold back into the grid at a profit when their electricity generation e...

From the author of Power from the Sun, the complete guide to switching to clean, affordable, renewable energy resources.Energy bills have skyrocketed in the United States, and traditional energy sources can be as damaging to the environment as they are to your pocketbook. The Homeowner's Guide to Renewable Energy will show you how to slash your home energy costs while dramatically reducing your carbon footprint.Completely revised and updated...

This solar case study describes how a 6.4 kW rooftop photovoltaic solar system was determined, designed, purchased and installed. It provides electrical use tables, solution drawings, system specs for all components, and over 30 photos and tables showing each step in the system installation process. Includes complete cost data showing the payment schedule and rebate amounts and performance results for several years. Also shows how little effort is needed to maintain the system. Describes h...

The Energy Return on Energy Invested (EROI or EROEI) is the amount of energy acquired from a particular energy source divided by the energy expended, or invested, in obtaining that energy. EROI is an essential and seemingly simple measure of the usable energy or “energy profit” from the exploitation of an energy source, but it is not so easy to determine all of the energy expenditures that should be included in the calculation. Because EROI values are generally low for renewable energy sou...

This book provides the latest research on a new alternative form of technology, the magnetocaloric energy conversion. This area of research concerns magnetic refrigeration and cooling, magnetic heat pumping and magnetic power generation. The book’s systematic approach offers the theoretical basis of magnetocaloric energy conversion and its various sub domains and this is supported with the practical examples. Besides these fundamentals, the book also introduces potential solutions to engin...

Specifications of Photovoltaic Pumping Systems in Agriculture: Sizing, Fuzzy Energy Management and Economic Sensitivity Analysis is the first book of its kind to discuss the physical installation and sizing of PV pumping systems, also providing a successful energy management operation and economic sensitivity analysis. In order to balance production with consumption, and to improve the lifetime of batteries, Imene Yahyaoui offers a complete study through sensitive analysis of system compon...

In the past decade, there has been a substantial increase of grid-feeding photovoltaic applications, thus raising the importance of solar electricity in the energy mix. This trend is expected to continue and may even increase. Apart from the high initial investment cost, the fluctuating nature of the solar resource raises particular insertion problems in electrical networks. Proper grid managing demands short- and long-time forecasting of solar power plant output.Weather modeli...

Since its modest beginning in the 1970s, the academic and research focus on energy has grown substantially and energy has established itself as an independent, interdisciplinary subject area. It attracts attention from people in a range of different fields including engineers, scientists, geologists, environmentalists, bankers, investors, policy makers and politicians. Energy Economics introduces the basic concepts of energy economics and explains how simple economic tools can be ...

The internal heat of the planet Earth represents an inexhaustible reservoir of thermal energy. This form of energy, known as geothermal energy has been utilized throughout human history in the form of hot water from hot springs. Modern utilization of geothermal energy includes direct use of the heat and its conversion to other forms of energy, mainly electricity. Geothermal energy is a form of renewable energy and its use is associated with very little or no CO2-emissions and its importanc...

This book provides a comprehensive overview of the technology behind the pico-solar revolution and offers guidance on how to test and choose quality products. The book also discusses how pioneering companies and initiatives are overcoming challenges to reach scale in the marketplace, from innovative distribution strategies to reach customers in rural India and Tanzania, to product development in Cambodia, product assembly in Mozambique and the introduction of ‘pay as you go’ technology in ...

This book provides a single-source reference for whole life embodied impacts of buildings. The comprehensive and persuasive text, written by over 50 invited experts from across the world, offers an indispensable resource both to newcomers and to established practitioners in the field. Ultimately it provides a persuasive argument as to why embodied impacts are an essential aspect of sustainable built environments.The book is divided into four sections: measurement, includin...