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Energy and the environment
Energy and Buildings, 17 (1991) 257-258
257
Book Review E n e r g y a n d the E n v i r o n m e n t Edited by A. A. M. Sayigh, published by Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1990, 3267 pp., price £350, US$578. This book entitled E n e r g y a n d the E n v i r o n m e n t contains the proceedings of the first World Renewable Energy Congress, which was held in Reading, U.K., during S e p t e m b e r 2 3 - 2 8 , 1990. The complete material consists of 3267 pages divided into five volumes covering nine groups of specific problems. The editor A. A. M. Sayigh, in the preface of this edition, gives the following t ext describing the contents: Volume One consists of nine plenary papers outlining the various important issues and possible commercial utilisation of different forms of renewable energy, and 90 papers in the field of photovoltaic technology. The papers review the present state of the technology, address the outstanding technical, financial, marketing and social problems and consider what the future holds for photovoltaics. World shipment of P.V. in 1989 was about 35 MWp, and the cost of installed pow e r at p r e s e n t is $ 5AVp from crystalline cells and $ 4AVp from a m o r p h o u s silicon. The average efficiency of crystalline cells reached 13%, while in the laboratory 21.7% was reached. Thin film efficiency is about 7%, while 17% is r e a c hed in the laboratory. In reviewing these papers it became ap p ar ent that the combination of cell i m p r o v emen t and cost reduction is going to put P.V. in the forefront of the renewable energy sources for the next 5 - 1 0 years. Volume Two consists of 121 paper s on solar thermal technology. In this area the pa p ers reflect th e vast r e s ear c h and devel opm ent p r o g r a m m e s which have been carried out ar o u n d the world. The overall system efficiency is about 21% and the cost of electricity generation is the same as that of oil or coal generation but it has the overriding advantages of being cleaner, safer and inexhaustible. The p r es en t installed capacity of p o w e r generation is about 300 MW, mostly in the U.S.A. Volume Three is divided into t hr e e parts: Part One deals with materials science which consists of 26 papers. Rapid advances in
materials science technologies now make available many novel forms of coating for energy efficient applications in solar radiation conversion. Insulating heat mirrors, selective absorbers, transparent insulation and fluorescent concentrators are examples of materials which are today commercially available. Radiative cooling, electrochromic windows and polymeric light pipes are areas which hold promise for future development. Chemical materials and papers concentrate upon new material advances as well as applications, costs, reliability, deposition technologies and industrial production, p e r f o r m a n c e and characterisation. Part Two (of Volume Three) deals with wind energy conversion: 46 papers dealing with successful utilisation and research and devel opm ent p r o g r a m m e s in this area. The installed capacity in the world is presently about 4000 MW and this is likely to increase rapidly during the present decade. The cost of electricity generation from wind is cheaper than that of conventional generation in areas where the wind regime is 5 m/s or higher. The papers also cover large p r o g r a m m e s in the U.S.A. and Europe. Part Three (of Volume Three) deals with biomass technology and has 62 papers. This is probably the ultimate future energy of the world since biomass sources are the largest single provider of energy for developing countries and overall provide 14% of the world's energy -- equivalent to 22 million barrels of oil a day. The increased undersupply of biomass is a serious environmental and socio-economic problem. There are, however, important opportunities in the biotechnology and agricultural/forestry m anagem en t techniques t o improve greatly the productivity of biomass plants and to improve the efficiency of conversion to easily usable fuels. There is now considerable experience worldwide with the commercial use of biomass fuel and also the integration of agroforestry systems into the environment to m e e t local and national demands. How such experi ences can be transferred to ot her communities and other
Elsevier Sequoia, Lausanne
258 enterpreneurial investments is important for the long-term development of sustainable bioenergy systems. The role of biomass vegetation in maintaining the world's climate and emq r o n m e nt is being increasingly appreciated. Tile greenhouse/global warming effects can be ameliorated by increased aforestation and the halting of deforestation. Biomass fuels do not contribute to the COe increase and have lower noxious gas and particle emissions than most fossil fuels. Volume F o u r consists of 102 papers and is c o n c e r n e d with solar and low energy architecture. The papers focus on energy and environment issues facing designers in the forthcoming decade, examine the p r o s p e c t s and research issues in different climatic regions and r ecen t architectural projects, and review the d ev elo p m ent of c o m p u t e r aids for environmental design. Some paper s also deal with education issues. Volume Five has 89 papers dealing with various issues. Solar radiation, which is the main source of all renewable energy, is covered
in several papers; while wave energy, minihydro, geothermal, tidal energy, hydrogen production, energy management, economic issues and other related topics are all covered in this volume. The Editorial Board of E n e r g y a n d B u i l d i n g s has concluded that the papers offer an overall review of research, knowledge and experi ences conducted or acquired in the world within the last ten years. A num ber of papers also release the latest results in scientific research and guide the readers toward new developments. This, above all, pertains to the characteristics and usage of new materials in photovoltaic techniques. There are certainly plenty of important information and suggestions for architects as well as those studying the usage of the biomass technology. We consider this Edition of E n e r g y and the E n v i r o n m e n t presents an abundance of documentation for all those researching renewable energy sources or conducting studies within this field. Branislav Todorovi~ Unive~'sity of Belgrade
257
Book Review E n e r g y a n d the E n v i r o n m e n t Edited by A. A. M. Sayigh, published by Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1990, 3267 pp., price £350, US$578. This book entitled E n e r g y a n d the E n v i r o n m e n t contains the proceedings of the first World Renewable Energy Congress, which was held in Reading, U.K., during S e p t e m b e r 2 3 - 2 8 , 1990. The complete material consists of 3267 pages divided into five volumes covering nine groups of specific problems. The editor A. A. M. Sayigh, in the preface of this edition, gives the following t ext describing the contents: Volume One consists of nine plenary papers outlining the various important issues and possible commercial utilisation of different forms of renewable energy, and 90 papers in the field of photovoltaic technology. The papers review the present state of the technology, address the outstanding technical, financial, marketing and social problems and consider what the future holds for photovoltaics. World shipment of P.V. in 1989 was about 35 MWp, and the cost of installed pow e r at p r e s e n t is $ 5AVp from crystalline cells and $ 4AVp from a m o r p h o u s silicon. The average efficiency of crystalline cells reached 13%, while in the laboratory 21.7% was reached. Thin film efficiency is about 7%, while 17% is r e a c hed in the laboratory. In reviewing these papers it became ap p ar ent that the combination of cell i m p r o v emen t and cost reduction is going to put P.V. in the forefront of the renewable energy sources for the next 5 - 1 0 years. Volume Two consists of 121 paper s on solar thermal technology. In this area the pa p ers reflect th e vast r e s ear c h and devel opm ent p r o g r a m m e s which have been carried out ar o u n d the world. The overall system efficiency is about 21% and the cost of electricity generation is the same as that of oil or coal generation but it has the overriding advantages of being cleaner, safer and inexhaustible. The p r es en t installed capacity of p o w e r generation is about 300 MW, mostly in the U.S.A. Volume Three is divided into t hr e e parts: Part One deals with materials science which consists of 26 papers. Rapid advances in
materials science technologies now make available many novel forms of coating for energy efficient applications in solar radiation conversion. Insulating heat mirrors, selective absorbers, transparent insulation and fluorescent concentrators are examples of materials which are today commercially available. Radiative cooling, electrochromic windows and polymeric light pipes are areas which hold promise for future development. Chemical materials and papers concentrate upon new material advances as well as applications, costs, reliability, deposition technologies and industrial production, p e r f o r m a n c e and characterisation. Part Two (of Volume Three) deals with wind energy conversion: 46 papers dealing with successful utilisation and research and devel opm ent p r o g r a m m e s in this area. The installed capacity in the world is presently about 4000 MW and this is likely to increase rapidly during the present decade. The cost of electricity generation from wind is cheaper than that of conventional generation in areas where the wind regime is 5 m/s or higher. The papers also cover large p r o g r a m m e s in the U.S.A. and Europe. Part Three (of Volume Three) deals with biomass technology and has 62 papers. This is probably the ultimate future energy of the world since biomass sources are the largest single provider of energy for developing countries and overall provide 14% of the world's energy -- equivalent to 22 million barrels of oil a day. The increased undersupply of biomass is a serious environmental and socio-economic problem. There are, however, important opportunities in the biotechnology and agricultural/forestry m anagem en t techniques t o improve greatly the productivity of biomass plants and to improve the efficiency of conversion to easily usable fuels. There is now considerable experience worldwide with the commercial use of biomass fuel and also the integration of agroforestry systems into the environment to m e e t local and national demands. How such experi ences can be transferred to ot her communities and other
Elsevier Sequoia, Lausanne
258 enterpreneurial investments is important for the long-term development of sustainable bioenergy systems. The role of biomass vegetation in maintaining the world's climate and emq r o n m e nt is being increasingly appreciated. Tile greenhouse/global warming effects can be ameliorated by increased aforestation and the halting of deforestation. Biomass fuels do not contribute to the COe increase and have lower noxious gas and particle emissions than most fossil fuels. Volume F o u r consists of 102 papers and is c o n c e r n e d with solar and low energy architecture. The papers focus on energy and environment issues facing designers in the forthcoming decade, examine the p r o s p e c t s and research issues in different climatic regions and r ecen t architectural projects, and review the d ev elo p m ent of c o m p u t e r aids for environmental design. Some paper s also deal with education issues. Volume Five has 89 papers dealing with various issues. Solar radiation, which is the main source of all renewable energy, is covered
in several papers; while wave energy, minihydro, geothermal, tidal energy, hydrogen production, energy management, economic issues and other related topics are all covered in this volume. The Editorial Board of E n e r g y a n d B u i l d i n g s has concluded that the papers offer an overall review of research, knowledge and experi ences conducted or acquired in the world within the last ten years. A num ber of papers also release the latest results in scientific research and guide the readers toward new developments. This, above all, pertains to the characteristics and usage of new materials in photovoltaic techniques. There are certainly plenty of important information and suggestions for architects as well as those studying the usage of the biomass technology. We consider this Edition of E n e r g y and the E n v i r o n m e n t presents an abundance of documentation for all those researching renewable energy sources or conducting studies within this field. Branislav Todorovi~ Unive~'sity of Belgrade