Future Electricity Technologies and Systems

'This is an invaluable source book for the energy technologies that will see us into the second half of the 21st century. Without increasing supplies of clean energy we will languish and stagnate. Only new technology can supply our insatiable demand for energy and fuel economic growth.' Ian Fells CBE FREng FRSE
'This book provides a series of well-informed and objective reviews of new and emerging technologies for supplying and using electricity in ways that would greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. The range of options reviewed is wide, each of which is dealt with in a digestible and non-technical way: onshore and offshore wind; solar photovoltaics; bio-energy; wave energy; combined heat and power, both large and small scale; nuclear energy; new micro-generation technologies; carbon capture and storage from the use of fossil fuels; hydrogen production and use; small and large scale options for energy storage both to help shave peak demands and overcome the intermittency problem of some renewable energy sources; energy efficiency in buildings, transport and industry; and new developments in power electronics for the control and management of supply and demand. The picture is one of continual innovation and development arising from the efforts of engineers in many countries. It is to be hoped that the UK will substantially bolster its efforts on R&D and innovation, as the book clearly indicates is needed, since there is no reason why the UK-indeed why any country-could not meet its energy needs while addressing the climate change problem. The costs of the emerging options are higher than-but not far removed from-those of using fossil fuels and, with innovation, can be expected to decline.' Dennis Anderson, Imperial College London
'It's a pleasure to see a book on future electricity systems that foreswears the narrow advocacy of particular technologies and provides an authoritative account of all the options that may be needed in the coming decades. Renewables, nuclear and fossil all have their place in this book which not only deals with demand-side options but places individual technologies in a whole systems context. With energy now a key policy concern, this could become a standard reference for students and practitioners alike.' Jim Skea, Research Director, UK Energy Research Centre