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Understanding Energy Innovation

Author : Heather Lovell

Publisher : Springer Nature

Page : 108 pages

File Size : 16,73 MB

Release : 2022

Category : Human geography

ISBN : 9811662533

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Book Description

This open access book uses smart grids to explore and better understand energy innovation, from a social science perspective. Understanding Energy Innovation has four core themes--networks, nodes, narratives and nostalgia--and each chapter tackles a theme, using case studies from Australia and Europe. Energy innovation is currently occurring at a rapid pace, in response to a host of problems including climate change, high energy prices, and unreliable supply. Understanding Energy Innovation provides ways to think about and plan for energy sector reform and innovation, drawing on core ideas from social and innovation theory, and centred on smart grids as a case study. These academic ideas are written about in an accessible way, recognising that a diversity of people have an interest in energy innovation generally, and smart grids more specifically, and would like to find out more about ways of understanding energy innovation that integrate the social and the political.



Energy and Civilization

Author : Vaclav Smil

Publisher : MIT Press

Page : 564 pages

File Size : 10,91 MB

Release : 2018-11-13

Category : Science

ISBN : 0262536161

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Book Description

A comprehensive account of how energy has shaped society throughout history, from pre-agricultural foraging societies through today's fossil fuel–driven civilization. "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.



Sustainable Energy

Author : David J. C. MacKay

Publisher :

Page : 368 pages

File Size : 38,55 MB

Release : 2009

Category :

ISBN :

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How Solar Energy Became Cheap

Author : Gregory F. Nemet

Publisher : Routledge

Page : 261 pages

File Size : 35,43 MB

Release : 2019-05-20

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN : 0429643853

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Book Description

Solar energy is a substantial global industry, one that has generated trade disputes among superpowers, threatened the solvency of large energy companies, and prompted serious reconsideration of electric utility regulation rooted in the 1930s. One of the biggest payoffs from solar’s success is not the clean inexpensive electricity it can produce, but the lessons it provides for innovation in other technologies needed to address climate change. Despite the large literature on solar, including analyses of increasingly detailed datasets, the question as to how solar became inexpensive and why it took so long still remains unanswered. Drawing on developments in the US, Japan, Germany, Australia, and China, this book provides a truly comprehensive and international explanation for how solar has become inexpensive. Understanding the reasons for solar’s success enables us to take full advantage of solar’s potential. It can also teach us how to support other low-carbon technologies with analogous properties, including small modular nuclear reactors and direct air capture. However, the urgency of addressing climate change means that a key challenge in applying the solar model is in finding ways to speed up innovation. Offering suggestions and policy recommendations for accelerated innovation is another key contribution of this book. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy technology and innovation, climate change and energy analysis and policy, as well as practitioners and policymakers working in the existing and emerging energy industries.



The Political Economy of Clean Energy Transitions

Author : Douglas Arent

Publisher : Oxford University Press

Page : 631 pages

File Size : 13,3 MB

Release : 2017

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN : 0198802242

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Book Description

A volume on the political economy of clean energy transition in developed and developing regions, with a focus on the issues that different countries face as they transition from fossil fuels to lower carbon technologies.



Energy Technology Innovation

Author : Arnulf Grubler

Publisher : Cambridge University Press

Page : 409 pages

File Size : 26,80 MB

Release : 2014

Category : Law

ISBN : 110702322X

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Book Description

An edited volume on factors determining success or failure of energy technology innovation, for researchers and policy makers.



Designing Climate Solutions

Author : Hal Harvey

Publisher : Island Press

Page : 374 pages

File Size : 34,14 MB

Release : 2018-11-01

Category : Technology & Engineering

ISBN : 1610919564

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Book Description

With the effects of climate change already upon us, the need to cut global greenhouse gas emissions is nothing less than urgent. It’s a daunting challenge, but the technologies and strategies to meet it exist today. A small set of energy policies, designed and implemented well, can put us on the path to a low carbon future. Energy systems are large and complex, so energy policy must be focused and cost-effective. One-size-fits-all approaches simply won’t get the job done. Policymakers need a clear, comprehensive resource that outlines the energy policies that will have the biggest impact on our climate future, and describes how to design these policies well. Designing Climate Solutions: A Policy Guide for Low-Carbon Energy is the first such guide, bringing together the latest research and analysis around low carbon energy solutions. Written by Hal Harvey, CEO of the policy firm Energy Innovation, with Robbie Orvis and Jeffrey Rissman of Energy Innovation, Designing Climate Solutions is an accessible resource on lowering carbon emissions for policymakers, activists, philanthropists, and others in the climate and energy community. In Part I, the authors deliver a roadmap for understanding which countries, sectors, and sources produce the greatest amount of greenhouse gas emissions, and give readers the tools to select and design efficient policies for each of these sectors. In Part II, they break down each type of policy, from renewable portfolio standards to carbon pricing, offering key design principles and case studies where each policy has been implemented successfully. We don’t need to wait for new technologies or strategies to create a low carbon future—and we can’t afford to. Designing Climate Solutions gives professionals the tools they need to select, design, and implement the policies that can put us on the path to a livable climate future.



The Energy Internet

Author : Wencong Su

Publisher : Woodhead Publishing

Page : 400 pages

File Size : 42,74 MB

Release : 2018-10-26

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN : 0081022158

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Book Description

The Energy Internet: An Open Energy Platform to Transform Legacy Power Systems into Open Innovation and Global Economic Engines is an innovative concept that changes the way people generate, distribute and consume electrical energy. With the potential to transform the infrastructure of the electric grid, the book challenges existing power systems, presenting innovative and pioneering theories and technologies that will challenge existing norms on generation and consumption. Researchers, academics, engineers, consultants and policymakers will gain a thorough understanding of the Energy Internet that includes a thorough dissemination of case studies from the USA, China, Japan, Germany and the U.K. The book's editors provide analysis of various enabling technologies and technical solutions, such as control theory, communication, and the social and economic aspects that are central to obtaining a clear appreciation of the potential of this complex infrastructure. - Presents the first complete resource on the innovative concept of the Energy Internet - Provides a clear analysis of the architecture of the Energy Internet to ensure an understanding of the technologies behind generating, distributing and consuming electricity in this way - Includes a variety of global case studies of real-world implementation and pilot projects to thoroughly demonstrate the theoretical, technological and economic considerations



Energy's Digital Future

Author : Amy Myers Jaffe

Publisher : Columbia University Press

Page : 374 pages

File Size : 36,92 MB

Release : 2021-05-11

Category : Business & Economics

ISBN : 0231551843

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Book Description

Disruptive digital technologies are poised to reshape world energy markets. A new wave of industrial innovation, driven by the convergence of automation, artificial intelligence, and big data analytics, is remaking energy and transportation systems in ways that could someday end the age of oil. What are the consequences—not only for the environment and for daily life but also for geopolitics and the international order? Amy Myers Jaffe provides an expert look at the promises and challenges of the future of energy, highlighting what the United States needs to do to maintain its global influence in a post-oil era. She surveys new advances coming to market in on-demand travel services, automation, logistics, energy storage, artificial intelligence, and 3-D printing and explores how this rapid pace of innovation is altering international security dynamics in fundamental ways. As the United States vacillates politically about its energy trajectory, China is proactively striving to become the global frontrunner in a full-scale global energy transformation. In order to maintain its leadership role, Jaffe argues, the United States must embrace the digital revolution and foster American achievement. Bringing together analyses of technological innovation, energy policy, and geopolitics, Energy’s Digital Future gives indispensable insight into the path the United States will need to pursue to ensure its lasting economic competitiveness and national security in a new energy age.



How to Avoid a Climate Disaster

Author : Bill Gates

Publisher : Knopf Canada

Page : 240 pages

File Size : 48,3 MB

Release : 2021-02-16

Category : Science

ISBN : 0735280452

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Book Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER NATIONAL BESTSELLER In this urgent, singularly authoritative book, Bill Gates sets out a wide-ranging, practical--and accessible--plan for how the world can get to zero greenhouse gas emissions in time to avoid an irreversible climate catastrophe. Bill Gates has spent a decade investigating the causes and effects of climate change. With the help and guidance of experts in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, engineering, political science and finance, he has focused on exactly what must be done in order to stop the planet's slide toward certain environmental disaster. In this book, he not only gathers together all the information we need to fully grasp how important it is that we work toward net-zero emissions of greenhouse gases but also details exactly what we need to do to achieve this profoundly important goal. He gives us a clear-eyed description of the challenges we face. He describes the areas in which technology is already helping to reduce emissions; where and how the current technology can be made to function more effectively; where breakthrough technologies are needed, and who is working on these essential innovations. Finally, he lays out a concrete plan for achieving the goal of zero emissions--suggesting not only policies that governments should adopt, but what we as individuals can do to keep our government, our employers and ourselves accountable in this crucial enterprise. As Bill Gates makes clear, achieving zero emissions will not be simple or easy to do, but by following the guidelines he sets out here, it is a goal firmly within our reach.