Description
This book reviews the past, present and future generation and use of electricity. While noting the importance of electricity to the well-being of people, it argues that all means of electricity generation have adverse ecological consequences. The ecological effects of all the main forms of electricity generation, storage and transmission are reviewed in 14 chapters. The chapters briefly cover the engineering and physics of each method of electricity generation followed by a description of the different ways in which the technology interacts with the natural world. Finally, sections consider the importance of these impacts and how they can be mitigated or avoided. A final chapter summarizes the issues and emphasizes that the only way to truly minimize the impacts of electricity generation is to reduce our consumption and transmission. Future efforts should continue to focus on increasing the efficiency of light production, refrigeration, electrical appliances and batteries.
Table of contents
- 1: Our Need for Electricity and the Main Energy Sources Available
- 2: Hydroelectric Generation
- 3: Tidal Generation
- 4: Wave Power and Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion
- 5: Steam Turbines and Their Cooling Systems
- 6: Nuclear Generation
- 7: Coal and Oil-Fired Power Plants
- 8: Gas-Fired Power Plants
- 9: Wind Turbines and the Effects of Offshore Piling
- 10: Solar Power
- 11: Fuel Cells and Flow Batteries
- 12: Batteries
- 13: Biofuels and Waste-Powered Generation
- 14: Small-Scale and Mobile Electric Generators
- 15: Ecological Issues Relating to Transmission Lines
- 16: Geothermal Generation
- 17: Minimizing Environmental Damage While Generating Electricity Cost-Effectively
Readership
Suitable for students, academics, consultants, members of the public interested in power generation issues; Civil servants, NGOs and governmental advisors.
Reviews
"A practical handbook that reviews briefly, in clear and straightforward language, the environmental issues associated with keeping the lights on. Along the way, Henderson puts to bed the absurd idea that renewables are 'green'; like traditional forms of power generation they have impacts on the environment, and sometimes very serious ones." - Andrew Montford, the Global Warning Policy Forum: https://www.thegwpf.com/a-delight-if-you-like-horror-stories/
The discussions of ecological impacts are wide-ranging... [T]his book... is a useful synthesis that reveals the importance of the topic. Conservation Biology. August 2019
