Wind Energy ― Renewable Energy and the Environment, Second Edition

This new edition adds a chapter on distributed wind power generation, and the rest of the material will be updated throughout. Also, it adds practical uses for wind power, such as municipal street lighting, industrial refrigeration, telecommunications, etc. It will also examine the history of wind energy, and provide ample reasons to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. It will cover the characteristics of wind, such as shear, power potential, and turbulence, and discuss the measurement and siting of individual wind turbines and wind farms. The text will present the design, aerodynamics, operation, control, applications, and different types of wind turbines. It will also explore the wind industry from its inception in the 1970s to today as well as the political and economic factors regarding the adoption of wind as an energy source.

Dr. Vaughn Nelson is the author of four books and four CDs and has published over fifty articles and reports. He also served as the principal investigator on numerous grants and conducted more than sixty workshops and seminars. Presently he is a professor emeritus of physics and remains in close contact with the Alternative Energy Institute at West Texas A&M University. Dr. Nelson developed the material for an online course in renewable energy at WTAMU in 2010 and the resulting book, Introduction to Renewable Energy, Renewable Energy and the Environment, was published by CRC Press in 2011. Dr. Nelson earned a PhD in physics from the University of Kansas, an EdM from Harvard University, and a BSE from Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia.