Energy Portfolios

This book provides an overview of the globally ongoing research and development efforts to reduce carbon emissions and costs, and to improve the efficiency of emerging energy technologies. It covers current and future research and development of Coal, Oil, Natural Gas, Nuclear Power, and Renewable Energy Resources. The author provides optimal size, capital costs, powerplant operation costs and health consequences for each resource. The author delineates low-carbon emission alternatives and methods to mitigate environmental and health risks.

U. Aswathanarayana (General Editor) has extensive experience in teaching, research and development and in institutional capacity building in many countries. He has published various books on natural resources, food, water and environmental matters, in which a variety of techno-socio-economic approaches were focused on the core theme. He is the recipient of the Excellence in Geophysical Education (2005) and International Awards (2007) of the American Geophysical Union, Certificate of Recognition (2007) of the International Association of GeoChemistry, and Eminent Citizen Award in the area of Water Sciences (2007) of the Sivananda Trust, India.

Rao S. Divi (Section 2), worked as a Research Scientist at the Geological Survey of Canada in the seventies, where he received international recognition for his contributions in Geostatistics and Tectonics. Subsequently, for many years he taught in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, where he obtained extensive knowledge of the various aspects of oil and natural gas.

1. Energy from coal, including case studies of China and South Africa; 2. Energy from oil and natural gas, including case studies of Russia and Saudi Arabia; 3. Nuclear energy, including case studies of Japan and India; 4. Renewable energy resources: hydroelectricity, geothermal energy, wind energy, biomass, solar energy; 5. Quo vadis?