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Energy Technologies and Economics pp 147–210Cite as

Renewable Energy

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Abstract

This chapter describes the basic processes of the major renewable energy technologies. A brief outline of the historical development of renewable energy is first presented. Later, the working principles and the economics of wind energy, solar energy, hydro power, bioenergies will be described, followed by a review of other renewable technologies which have not reached maturity as of today. Finally, a discussion on the means available for carrying and storing energy is provided at the end of this chapter.

Keywords

  • Solar power
  • Wind power
  • Hydropower
  • Biomass
  • Energy storage carriers

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Solar energy is nothing but an end product of nuclear fusion taking place on the sun.

  2. 2.

    The Solarpark in Mühlhausen in Bavararia is expected to produce at 5 W/m\(^2\).

  3. 3.

    Could you imagine a wind turbine of 1 km in height with almost the same length of rotor blades?

  4. 4.

    85 % plant availability is assumed for coal-fired power plants and 30 % capacity factor for wind power.

  5. 5.

    The sugar or the vegetable oils found in these feedstocks can easily be extracted with existing technologies.

  6. 6.

    For instance, government intervention in the biofuel market can render possible the fact that the price of biofuels rises faster than the price of energy.

  7. 7.

    Waste from the paper industry.

  8. 8.

    The derivation is in fact incorrect. Waves also carry kinetic energy, and in addition the relationship between (group) velocity and wavelength needs to be modified. In this particular case the modifications “cancel” and one is left with our present simple formula.

  9. 9.

    Magnetic induction means that an electric current is induced by a time varying magnetic field.

  10. 10.

    The explosive range is the proportions of combustible vapor mixed with air which leads to an explosion if ignited.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Jan Petter Hansen & Jan R. Lien

  2. Dept. of Business & Management Science, Norwegian School of Economics, Oslo, Norway

    Patrick A. Narbel

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  1. Patrick A. Narbel
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  2. Jan Petter Hansen
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Correspondence to Patrick A. Narbel .

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Narbel, P.A., Hansen, J.P., Lien, J.R. (2014). Renewable Energy. In: Energy Technologies and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08225-7_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-08225-7_4

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