Power Generation: Resources, Hazards, Technology and Cost Book

There was a time when a text on power generation would have focused squarely on technological problems and been directed solely toward engineering students. This approach is no longer feasible. The author states that he has prepared this text "to fill the need for a reasoned presentation of the resources, hazards, and costs of power generation in the context of a review of the technology. The great concern in recent years with resources and the environment means that engineering design must be guided and constrained by many more factors than in the past. The engineering profession should be fully aware of the widening implications of power generation so that planners can work as intelligently as possible for long-term human benefit... "The book is organized into four more or less independent parts. Chapters 1 to 3 deal with energy resources in light of the demand for power and the possibilities of energy conservation; Chapters 4 to 6 deal with the environmental effects and hazards of power generation; Chapter 7 focuses on financial costs; and Chapters 8, 9, and 10 review the technologies of nuclear, fossil, and solar power." The emphasis throughout the text is on a quantitative assessment of relevant factors in order to provide a framework in which alternatives can be reasonably compared. The discussion of present and potential solar energy technology and costs is especially distinctive in this regard and differs greatly from the qualitative assessments offered by other texts. Problems and references are included at the end of each chapter to give students an opportunity to think about the implications of basic factors and to guide them into the literature. This book is intended primarily for upper-level undergraduate or first-year graduate students in engineering, science, or environmental studies. Its broad scope and balanced technical approach should also make it useful to people in many other fields who find it necessary to understand the basis and constraints of power engineering.Read More