Handbook of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (The CRC Press Series in Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering)

1568 Pages·2007·0.24 MB·English

by  Frank Kreith

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1730—prelims—30/3/2007—11:48—BSARAVANAN—15094—XMLMODELCRC12a–pp.1–26.
1730—prelims—30/3/2007—11:48—BSARAVANAN—15094—XMLMODELCRC12a–pp.1–26.
1730—prelims—30/3/2007—11:48—BSARAVANAN—15094—XMLMODELCRC12a–pp.1–26.
1730—prelims—30/3/2007—11:48—BSARAVANAN—15094—XMLMODELCRC12a–pp.1–26.
1730—prelims—30/3/2007—11:48—BSARAVANAN—15094—XMLMODELCRC12a–pp.1–26.
1730—prelims—30/3/2007—11:48—BSARAVANAN—15094—XMLMODELCRC12a–pp.1–26.
1730—prelims—30/3/2007—11:48—BSARAVANAN—15094—XMLMODELCRC12a–pp.1–26.
Preface
Purpose
Thegoalofthishandbookistoprovideinformationnecessaryforengineers,energyprofessionals,and
policy makers to plan a secure energy future. The time horizon of the handbook is limited to
approximately25yearsbecauseenvironmentalconditionsvary,newtechnologiesemerge,andpriorities
of society continuously change. It is therefore not possible to make reliable projections beyond that
period.Giventhistimehorizon,thebookdealsonlywithtechnologiesthatarecurrentlyavailableorare
expectedtobereadyforimplementationinthenearfuture.
Overview
Energyisamainstayofanindustrialsociety.Asthepopulationoftheworldincreasesandpeoplestrive
forahigherstandardofliving,theamountofenergynecessarytosustainoursocietyiseverincreasing.At
the same time, the availability of nonrenewable sources, particularly liquid fuels, is rapidly shrinking.
Therefore, there is general agreement that to avoid an energy crisis, the amount of energy needed
to sustain society will have to be contained and, to the extent possible, renewable sources will have to
be used. As a consequence, conservation and renewable energy technologies are going to increase in
importanceandreliable,up-to-dateinformationabouttheiravailability,efficiency,andcostisnecessary
forplanningasecureenergyfuture.
Thetimingofthishandbookalsocoincideswithanewimpetusfortheuseofrenewableenergy.This
impetuscomesfromtheemergenceofrenewableportfoliostandards[RPS]inmanystatesoftheU.S.and
renewableenergypoliciesinEurope,Japan,Israel,China,Brazil,andIndia.AnRPSrequiresthatacertain
percentageofenergyusedbederivedfromrenewableresources.RPSsandotherincentivesforrenewable
energyarecurrentlyinplacein20ofthe50statesoftheU.S.andmorestatesareexpectedtosoonfollow.
ThedetailsoftheRPSforrenewableenergyandconservationinstitutedbystategovernmentsvary,butall
of them essentially offer an opportunity for industry to compete for the new markets. Thus, to be
successful,renewabletechnologieswillhavetobecomemoreefficientandcost-effective.AlthoughRPSs
arearelativelynewdevelopment,ithasalreadybeendemonstratedthattheycanreducemarketbarriers
andstimulatethedevelopmentofrenewableenergy.Useofconservationandrenewableenergycanhelp
meet critical national goals for fuel diversity, price stability, economic development, environmental
protection,andenergysecurity,andtherebyplayavitalroleinnationalenergypolicy.
TheexpectedgrowthrateofrenewableenergyfromportfoliostandardsandotherstimulantsintheU.S.
isimpressive.Ifcurrentpoliciescontinuetobeimplemented,bytheyear2017almost26,000megawattsof
newrenewableenergywillbeinplaceintheU.S.alone.In2005,photovoltaicproductionintheworldhas
alreadytopped1000MWperyearandisincreasingatarateofover30%.InGermany,theelectricityfeed-in
laws that value electricity produced from renewable energy resources much higher than that from
conventionalresources,havecreateddemandforphotovoltaicandwindpower.Asaresult,overthelast
threeyearsthephotovoltaicpowerhasgrownatarateofmorethan51%peryearandwindpowerhas
grown at a rate of more than 37% in Germany. Recently, a number of other European countries have
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