This book examines solar technologies, describes their properties, and evaluates the technological potential of each. It also reviews the logistics of deploying solar energy as a viable and sustainable way to solve urgent energy, environmental, and socio-economic problems. Topics discussed include solar power generation, today s solar technologies, solar thermal, silicon PV, thin PV, 3-D solar cells, nano-PV, organic solar cells, solar successes and failures, solar power fields, finance and regulations, solar markets and solar energy and the environment.

Natural and man-made changes in the environment create a very complex picture. This book analyzes this picture and provides snapshots of different areas of interest and makes suggestions for future work on cleaning and stabilizing the Earth s environment. Starting with conventional energy generation and moving on to renewable energies, this book analyzes and calculates their environmental impact and the lesser-known aspects of their "cradle-to-grave" life cycle such as the irreversible environmental damage done during the manufacturing of solar and wind equipment and during the...

This book takes a very close look at energy and energy security from a hands-on, technical point of view with an ultimate goal of sorting out and explaining the deep meaning of energy as well as the key factors and variables of our energy security. The book reviews the major energy sources coal, crude oil, natural gas, the renewables, and other alternative fuels and technologies according to the way they affect our energy security now and what consequences might be expected in the future.

Topics include the different technical, logistics, regulatory, social, political, and...

As discussed in this text, countries with excess energy resources export these to countries that need them. This is an important function of the global energy markets, where energy sources, products and services are traded among countries and companies. While this is the primary activity in energy markets, it is only part of the entire global energy market scheme. The goal of this text is to analyze all sides of the energy markets in their physical, technological, economic, political, regulatory, environmental, financial, and legal aspects.