Sunday, May 19, 2013

Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future (Boyle, ed.)


And now for something completely different: a review of what I used as a college textbook.

As my undergraduate degree wound down, I decided to do an independent study- on wind energy.  I looked forward to the concept- no endless hours in class, no exams; it would be a dream.  Boy, was I wrong.  Every week I had to prepare a paper on a different aspect of wind energy- and each paper was ~10-15 pages long.  By semester's end, I had (if memory serves) over 150 pages written on the blasted topic.  It was a valuable experience, to be sure, but one I hope to never repeat.

During those long hours of self-study, a resource I turned to again and again was Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future, edited by Geoffrey Boyle.  It covers every category: solar, biomass, hydro, tidal, wind, wave, and geothermal power- and does each well.  I, of course, focused on the wind chapter, but it's all quality.

I've had it on my shelf for 10 years now; it's time to part with it, as the field has undoubtedly advanced much in the last decade.  Still, it's a worthy read for those interested in the topic- I'm sure a newer edition is out.

Rating: A

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