Energy Production and Management in the 21st century IV

Book excerpt: The future of energy production, operation and management in a changing world is a major global topic. The papers contained in this volume were presented at the 4th International Conference on Energy Production and Management - The Quest for Sustainable Energy and focus on the comparison of conventional energy sources, particularly hydrocarbons, with a number of other ways of producing energy, such as new technological developments based on renewable resources such as solar, hydro, wind and geothermal. A key issue is the conversion of new sustainable sources of energy into useful forms (electricity, heat, fuel), while finding efficient ways of storage and distribution. In many cases the challenges lie as much with production of such renewable energy at an acceptable cost, including damage to the environment, as with integration of those resources into the existing infrastructure. This book features research on the ways in which more efficient use can be made of both conventional and new energy sources. This relates to savings in energy consumption, reduction of energy losses, as well as the implementation of smart devices and the design of intelligent distribution networks. Various topics are covered including: Energy and the city; Energy security; Energy distribution; Energy networks; Processing of oil and gas emissions; Pipelines; Renewable energies; Energy use in building; Tight energy fields; Energy and climate change; Biomass and biofuels; Environmental sustainability; Energy business; LNG.