Latest Advances and Challenges in Renewable Energy

In order to address concerns governing adverse climate changes and accelerating oil prices, global support for renewable energy legislation, incentives and commercialization is gaining momentum. To make the renewable energy sustainable, it is important that the renewable energy is highly efficient. It affects the global energy consumption as well as project development and management. This remarkable efficiency can be attained only by invention of highly efficient renewable energy sources, cheaper storage, smarter grids and effective systems for capturing greenhouse gases. Some of the recent advances achieved by the scientific community to make renewable energy potent and affordable include artificial photosynthesis, photovoltaics, carbon storage, conversion of carbon dioxide to ethanol, etc. In this book, several research articles highlighting the application of photovoltaics, artificial photosynthesis, wind turbines in renewable energy sector and their impact on energy consumption, have been compiled. Since offshore wind structures are attracting considerable interest, it is critical to comprehend corrosion issues in these structures and this has been explained in Chapter-1. Furthermore, in chapter-2, simulations for evaluating the performance of a hybrid wind-PV generating unit for a residential house have been demonstrated. Meanwhile some insights into an interesting concept of electromethanogenesis which is bio-conversion of electric current into methane has been discussed in chapter-3. It has niche applications for waste treatment and conversion of carbon dioxide into methane. Chapter-4 talks about an effective method to minimize air pollutants such as aerosols etc. which have detrimental effects on human health. Chapter-5 addresses the environmental, economic, social, governance and demographic impact of sustainable mining and strategy to stakeholder engagement and cost-effectiveness. Chapters 6-11 are compilation of research articles on photovoltaics. They encompass topics such as strategies to enhance the efficiencies of the photovoltaics and to employ them on roof-tops, their integration with batteries and their impact on climate change as discussed in chapter-9 and chapters 10-11 respectively. Furthermore chapter-11 addresses useful inverter technical knowledge which benefits policy-makers to mitigate ongoing inflation of electricity network tariff components. This book concludes by highlighting the advances and materials used in the field of solar fuel cells, in chapters 12-14; which is another important advancement in the field of renewable energy. As a concerned global citizen, it is pertinent that the reader acquaints oneself with the recent advances in the renewable energy sector. As this book provides an insight into the various sectors of sustainable energy, I strongly believe that it caters to an audience with diverse background - students, engineers and researchers working in the field of electrical and mechanical engineering, bio/chemistry, policy-making, physics and material science.