Energy for Sustainable Society

Preface

Energy is central for the quality of life, productivity, and prosperity of a society. On the other hand, the production, delivery, and transformation of energy sources have irreversible impacts on the ecosystem, air quality, water supply, and land use, and in the long‐term leads to climate change. Sustainable economic development and progress of humanity rely on continuous availability of high‐quality energy sources with minimal effects on the environment.

This text was prepared while keeping in mind an interdisciplinary group of readers. It covers technical, social, economic, and environmental aspects of energy systems. The primary goal is to supply material for a first course on fundamental energy topics at upper division undergraduate or first year graduate studies. It may be also a useful resource for technical professionals who wish to enrich and/or update their knowledge with current developments and emerging issues in the field of energy.

The book is organized in such a way that the material covered in earlier chapters provides a foundation for the subsequent chapters. The instructor or reader may change the sequence depending on the level of knowledge, area of interest, and scope of study.

While a basic mathematics and physics background is sufficient to understand most of the content, a college‐level knowledge of introductory physics and calculus is needed to thoroughly absorb topics related to energy conversion. Due to the interdisciplinary nature of the subject, ...