Renewable energy : physics, engineering, environmental impacts, economics and planning / Bent Sørensen.

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Front Cover; Renewable Energy; Copyright Page; Contents; Preface to fifth edition; Preface to fourth edition; Preface to third edition; Preface to second edition; Preface to first edition; Units and conversion factors; Powers of 10; SI Units; Conversion Factors; I. Renewable Energy Resources; 1 Perspectives on energy resources; 1.1 Current renewable energy market; 1.2 Past and present energy resources; 1.2.1 Energy history; 1.3 Resource prospects for the future; 1.4 Global temperature impacts and other climate impacts; 1.5 Role of environmental and social issues; 1.6 The sustainability test.

2.2.1.1 The disposition of incoming radiation2.2.2 Radiation at the Earth's surface; 2.2.2.1 Direct and scattered radiation; 2.2.2.2 Disposition of radiation at the Earth's surface; 2.2.2.3 Disposition of radiation in the atmosphere; 2.2.2.4 Annual, seasonal, and diurnal variations in the radiation fluxes at the Earth's surface; 2.2.2.5 Penetration of solar radiation; 2.3 Processes near the surface of the Earth; 2.3.1 The atmosphere; 2.3.1.1 Particles in the atmosphere; 2.3.1.2 Absorption and scattering in the atmosphere; 2.3.1.3 Absorption processes in different frequency regions.

2.3.1.4 Models for the description of scattered radiation2.3.1.5 The types of stored energy; 2.3.1.6 Total energy fluxes; 2.3.1.7 Energy transfer processes; 2.3.1.8 Vertical transport in the Earth-atmosphere boundary layer; 2.3.1.9 The description of atmospheric motion; 2.3.1.10 Time averaging; 2.3.1.11 Features of the observed atmospheric circulation; 2.3.1.12 Energy conversion processes and the separation of scales of motion; 2.3.1.13 Creation and destruction of kinetic energy; 2.3.1.14 Models of general atmospheric circulation; 2.3.2 The oceans and continents; 2.3.2.1 The water cycle.

2.3.2.2 Evaporation processes2.3.2.3 The state variables of the oceans; 2.3.2.4 Scales of oceanic motion; 2.3.2.5 Joint models of general circulation in oceans and atmosphere; 2.3.3 The climate; 2.3.3.1 Climate variables; 2.3.3.2 Stability of climate; 2.3.3.3 The ergodic hypothesis; 2.4 The energy cycle of the Earth; 2.4.1 Flows of energy and matter; 2.4.1.1 The undisturbed energy cycle; 2.4.1.2 Man's interference with the energy cycle; 2.4.1.3 Matter cycles; 2.4.1.4 The carbon cycle; 2.4.1.5 The nitrogen cycle; Nitrogen fixation; Fertilizer production; Denitrification processes.

This book covers the basic scientific principles behind all major renewable energy resources, such as solar, wind, and biomass. It explores how these raw renewable sources can be converted into useful forms, transmitted into the grid, and stored for future utilization as well as the aspects of energy planning, environmental impacts, and socio-economic issues on regional and global levels.

Online resource; title from PDF title page (ScienceDirect, viewed June 29, 2017).