Download or read book Renewables written by Michael Aklin and published by MIT Press. This book was released on 2018-03-23 with total page 345 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A comprehensive political analysis of the rapid growth in renewable wind and solar power, mapping an energy transition through theory, case studies, and policy. Wind and solar are the most dynamic components of the global power sector. How did this happen? After the 1973 oil crisis, the limitations of an energy system based on fossil fuels created an urgent need to experiment with alternatives, and some pioneering governments reaped political gains by investing heavily in alternative energy such as wind or solar power. Public policy enabled growth over time, and economies of scale brought down costs dramatically. In this book, Michaël Aklin and Johannes Urpelainen offer a comprehensive political analysis of the rapid growth in renewable wind and solar power, mapping an energy transition through theory, case studies, and policy analysis. Aklin and Urpelainen argue that, because the fossil fuel energy system and political support for it are so entrenched, only an external shock—an abrupt rise in oil prices, or a nuclear power accident, for example—allows renewable energy to grow. They analyze the key factors that enable renewable energy to withstand political backlash, andt they draw on this analyisis to explain and predict the development of renewable energy in different countries over time. They examine the pioneering efforts in the United States, Germany, and Denmark after the 1973 oil crisis and other shocks; explain why the United States surrendered its leadership role in renewable energy; and trace the recent rapid growth of modern renewables in electricity generation, describing, among other things, the return of wind and solar to the United States. Finally, they apply the lessons of their analysis to contemporary energy policy issues.
Download or read book Local Governments and Climate Change written by Maryke van Staden and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2010-04-05 with total page 462 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global warming is changing the world as we know it. Climate change can have catastrophic impacts in numerous cities across the world. It is time for us to react – quickly and effectively. The European Community (EC) has been leading the fight against climate change, making it one of its top priorities. We have introduced the most ambitious targets of their kind, known as the “20/20/20 by 2020” initiative within the “Climate Action and Renewable Energy Package.” As a result, European Member States have taken on a commitment to curb their CO emissions by at least 20% by 2020. 2 These targets are indeed commendable; however, they are only the start if we are to avoid the consequences of global warming. Whilst top level coordination from the European Institutions and Member State governments is vital, the role of mitigating and adapting to climate change at local level must not be forgotten. In fact, here cities, regions and their citizens play a significant a role. It is therefore vital they become directly involved in the climate change challenge. The European Commission therefore launched in 2008 a new initiative, the Covenant of Mayors, which brings together a network of European mayors in a voluntary effort to go beyond the European Union’s already ambitious targets. Half of our greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs) are created in and by cities.
Download or read book Municipal Entrepreneurship and Energy Policy written by Alison E. Woodward and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2019-06-26 with total page 205 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Originally published in 1994. The energy crisis of the 1970s provided an opportune climate for public sector entrepreneurship to develop. The authors present case studies from six innovative and diverse municipalities in Denmark, France, Germany, Sweden and the United States. The studies document problems these communities encountered while implementing new ideas in energy conservation and changes in energy supply and municipal planning. Each community was selected on the basis of its early, vigorous response to the energy crisis, and then followed up to examine roadblocks along the way to innovation in the public sector. The case studies highlight the challenges policy entrepreneurs face and the tactics they employ, revealing crucial differences between public and private sector entrepreneurship.
Download or read book Urban Energy Systems written by James Keirstead and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2013 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book analyses the technical and social systems that satisfy these needs and asks how methods can be put into practice to achieve this.
Download or read book The Power of Renewables written by Chinese Academy of Engineering and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2011-01-29 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The United States and China are the world's top two energy consumers and, as of 2010, the two largest economies. Consequently, they have a decisive role to play in the world's clean energy future. Both countries are also motivated by related goals, namely diversified energy portfolios, job creation, energy security, and pollution reduction, making renewable energy development an important strategy with wide-ranging implications. Given the size of their energy markets, any substantial progress the two countries make in advancing use of renewable energy will provide global benefits, in terms of enhanced technological understanding, reduced costs through expanded deployment, and reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions relative to conventional generation from fossil fuels. Within this context, the U.S. National Academies, in collaboration with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), reviewed renewable energy development and deployment in the two countries, to highlight prospects for collaboration across the research to deployment chain and to suggest strategies which would promote more rapid and economical attainment of renewable energy goals. Main findings and concerning renewable resource assessments, technology development, environmental impacts, market infrastructure, among others, are presented. Specific recommendations have been limited to those judged to be most likely to accelerate the pace of deployment, increase cost-competitiveness, or shape the future market for renewable energy. The recommendations presented here are also pragmatic and achievable.
Download or read book Integrated Spatial and Energy Planning written by Gernot Stoeglehner and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-04-02 with total page 126 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on spatial planning – an important determinant of energy saving and renewable energy supply. Revealing the key driving forces for spatial development supporting the shift towards energy efficiency and renewable energy supplies, it shows the importance of integrated spatial and energy planning approaches for a timely and sustainable change of energy systems, thus supporting policies of climate protection. As operating within the context of renewable energy sources is becoming a major policy issue at the international, European and national level, spatial dimensions of renewable energy systems as well as challenges, barriers and opportunities in different spatial contexts become more important. This book analyses not only the fundamental system interrelations between resources, technologies and consumption patterns with respect to energy, but also the links to the spatial context, and provides guidelines for researchers as well as practitioners in this new, emerging field. It presents innovative analytical tools to solve real-world problems and discusses the most important fields of action in integrated spatial and energy planning including planning contents, planning visions and principles as well as planning process design and planning methodology.
Download or read book Renewable Energy Systems written by Henrik Lund and published by Academic Press. This book was released on 2014-03-24 with total page 383 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this new edition of Renewable Energy Systems, globally recognized renewable energy researcher and professor, Henrik Lund, sets forth a straightforward, comprehensive methodology for comparing different energy systems' abilities to integrate fluctuating and intermittent renewable energy sources. The book does this by presenting an energy system analysis methodology. 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
Download or read book Environmental Impacts of Wind Energy Projects written by National Research Council and published by National Academies Press. This book was released on 2007-09-27 with total page 395 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The generation of electricity by wind energy has the potential to reduce environmental impacts caused by the use of fossil fuels. Although the use of wind energy to generate electricity is increasing rapidly in the United States, government guidance to help communities and developers evaluate and plan proposed wind-energy projects is lacking. Environmental Impacts of Wind-Energy Projects offers an analysis of the environmental benefits and drawbacks of wind energy, along with an evaluation guide to aid decision-making about projects. It includes a case study of the mid-Atlantic highlands, a mountainous area that spans parts of West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. This book will inform policy makers at the federal, state, and local levels.
Download or read book Energy Democracy written by Denise Fairchild and published by Island Press. This book was released on 2017-10-12 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The near-unanimous consensus among climate scientists is that the massive burning of gas, oil, and coal is having cataclysmic impacts on our atmosphere and climate. These climate and environmental impacts are particularly magnified and debilitating for low-income communities and communities of color. Energy democracy tenders a response and joins the environmental and climate movement with broader movements for social and economic change in this country and around the world. Energy Democracy brings together racial, cultural, and generational perspectives to show what an alternative, democratized energy future can look like. The book will inspire others to take up the struggle to build the energy democracy movement.
Download or read book Urban Planning for City Leaders written by Pablo Vaggione and published by . This book was released on 2012 with total page 190 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This guide is the result of a UN-Habitat initiative to provide local leaders and decision makers with the tools to support urban planning good practice. It includes several "how to" sections on all aspects of urban planning, including how to build resilience and reduce climate risks, with an example from Sorsogon, Philippines. It outlines practical ways to create and implement a vision for a city that will better prepare it to cope with growth and change. The overall guide offers insights from real experiences on what it takes to have an impact and to transform an urban reality through urban planning. It clearly links planning and financing and presents many successful practices that emphasize strategies to address real issues. It aims to inform leaders about the value that urban planning could bring to their cities and to facili.
Download or read book Renewable Energy Governance written by Evanthie Michalena and published by Springer Science & Business Media. This book was released on 2013-11-29 with total page 389 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book focuses on Renewable Energy (RE) governance - the institutions, plans, policies and stakeholders that are involved in RE implementation - and the complexities and challenges associated with this much discussed energy area. Whilst RE technologies have advanced and become cheaper, governance schemes rarely support those technologies in an efficient and cost-effective way. To illustrate the problem, global case-studies delicately demonstrate successes and failures of renewable energy governance. RE here is considered from a number of perspectives: as a regional geopolitical agent, as a tool to meet national RE targets and as a promoter of local development. The book considers daring insights on RE transitions, governmental policies as well as financial tools, such as Feed-in-Tariffs; along with their inefficiencies and costs. This comprehensive probing of RE concludes with a treatment of what we call the “Mega-What” question - who is benefitting the most from RE and how society can get the best deal? After reading this book, the reader will have been in contact with all aspects of RE governance and be closer to the pulse of RE mechanisms. The reader should also be able to contribute more critically to the dialogue about RE rather than just reinforce the well-worn adage that “RE is a good thing to happen”.
Download or read book Cities Towns Renewable Energy written by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and published by OECD. This book was released on 2009 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book includes several case studies chosen to illustrate how enhanced deployment of renewable energy projects can result from local policy regardless of a community's size or location.
Download or read book Energy and Cities written by John Byrne and published by Transaction Publishers. This book was released on with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Renewable Energy Sources and Climate Change Mitigation written by Ottmar Edenhofer and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2011-11-21 with total page 1088 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report (IPCC-SRREN) assesses the potential role of renewable energy in the mitigation of climate change. It covers the six most important renewable energy sources - bioenergy, solar, geothermal, hydropower, ocean and wind energy - as well as their integration into present and future energy systems. It considers the environmental and social consequences associated with the deployment of these technologies, and presents strategies to overcome technical as well as non-technical obstacles to their application and diffusion. SRREN brings a broad spectrum of technology-specific experts together with scientists studying energy systems as a whole. Prepared following strict IPCC procedures, it presents an impartial assessment of the current state of knowledge: it is policy relevant but not policy prescriptive. SRREN is an invaluable assessment of the potential role of renewable energy for the mitigation of climate change for policymakers, the private sector, and academic researchers.
Download or read book A Fire Upon The Deep written by Vernor Vinge and published by Tor Science Fiction. This book was released on 2010-04-01 with total page 626 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now with a new introduction for the Tor Essentials line, A Fire Upon the Deep is sure to bring a new generation of SF fans to Vinge's award-winning works. A Hugo Award-winning Novel! “Vinge is one of the best visionary writers of SF today.”-David Brin Thousands of years in the future, humanity is no longer alone in a universe where a mind's potential is determined by its location in space, from superintelligent entities in the Transcend, to the limited minds of the Unthinking Depths, where only simple creatures, and technology, can function. Nobody knows what strange force partitioned space into these "regions of thought," but when the warring Straumli realm use an ancient Transcendent artifact as a weapon, they unwittingly unleash an awesome power that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all natural and artificial intelligence. Fleeing this galactic threat, Ravna crash lands on a strange world with a ship-hold full of cryogenically frozen children, the only survivors from a destroyed space-lab. They are taken captive by the Tines, an alien race with a harsh medieval culture, and used as pawns in a ruthless power struggle. Tor books by Vernor Vinge Zones of Thought Series A Fire Upon The Deep A Deepness In The Sky The Children of The Sky Realtime/Bobble Series The Peace War Marooned in Realtime Other Novels The Witling Tatja Grimm's World Rainbows End Collections Collected Stories of Vernor Vinge True Names At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Download or read book Sustainable Local Energy Planning and Decision Making Emerging Research and Opportunities written by Marinakis, Vangelis and published by IGI Global. This book was released on 2017-03-31 with total page 185 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: It is imperative to promote and maintain sustainability in all areas of the world. By developing effective energy usage frameworks, regional communities can better achieve this goal. Sustainable Local Energy Planning and Decision Making: Emerging Research and Opportunities is an authoritative reference source featuring the latest scholarly research on an operational framework for decision support for local and regional authorities to aid in sustainable energy planning. Including extensive coverage on a broad range of topics and perspectives such as emission trends, energy balance, and climate change, this book is ideally designed for academicians, researchers, and students seeking current research on the development of regional sustainable energy plans.
Download or read book The Global Development Of Policy Regimes To Combat Climate Change written by Alex Bowen and published by World Scientific. This book was released on 2014-04-01 with total page 281 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The year 2015 will be a landmark year for international climate change negotiations. Governments have agreed to adopt a universal legal agreement on climate change at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris in 2015. The agreement will come into force no later than 2020.This book focuses on the prospects for global agreement, how to encourage compliance with any such agreement and perspectives of key players in the negotiations — the United States, India, China, and the EU. It finds that there is strong commitment to the established UN institutions and processes within which the search for further agreed actions will occur. There are already a myriad of local and regional policies that are helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build mutual confidence. However, the chapters in the book also highlight potential areas of discord. For instance, varying interpretations of the “common but differentiated responsibilities” of developing countries, agreed as part of the UNFCCC, could be a major sticking point for negotiators. When combined with other issues, such as the choice of consumption or production as the basis for mitigation commitments, the appropriate time frame and base date for their measurement and whether level or intensity commitments are to be negotiated, the challenges that need to be overcome are considerable. The authors bring to bear insights from economics, public finance and game theory.
