Energy Economics And The Environment

This casebook integrates a legal assessment of energy resources with economic and environmental issues, thereby encouraging thoughtful analysis of energy policy issues confronting the U.S. and the world. Historical and contemporary legal issues confronting a range of energy resources are surveyed, including water power, coal, oil and gas, electricity, and nuclear power. Particular attention is paid to the need to reduce consumption of imported oil by motor vehicles. The third edition of the book contains considerable material on problems presented by climate change, including legal issues confronting renewable power projects and various conservation measures. We believe that the material can be taught in many different variations, and we continue to teach it in a somewhat different order every time it is offered.

The book covers energy storage systems, bioenergy and hydrogen economy, grid integration of renewable energy systems, distributed generation, economic analysis, and environmental impacts of renewable energy systems. The overall approaches are interdisciplinary and comprehensive, covering economic, environmental, and grid integration issues as well as the physical and engineering aspects. Core issues discussed include mechanical, electrical, and thermal energy storage systems, batteries, fuel cells, biomass and biofuels, hydrogen economy, distributed generation, a brief presentation of microgrids, and in-depth discussions of economic analysis and methods of renewable energy systems, environmental impacts, life-cycle analysis, and energy conservation issues. With several solved examples, holistic material presentation, in-depth subject matter discussions and self-content material presentation, this textbook will appeal strongly to students and professional and nonprofessional readers who wish to understand this fascinating subject. Readers are encouraged to solve the problems and questions, which are useful ways to understand and apply the concepts and the topics included.

Every decision about energy involves its price and cost. The price of gasoline and the cost of buying from foreign producers; the price of nuclear and hydroelectricity and the costs to our ecosystems; the price of electricity from coal-fired plants and the cost to the atmosphere. Giving life to inventions, lifestyle changes, geopolitical shifts, and things in-between, energy economics is of high interest to Academia, Corporations and Governments. For economists, energy economics is one of three subdisciplines which, taken together, compose an economic approach to the exploitation and preservation of natural resources: energy economics, which focuses on energy-related subjects such as renewable energy, hydropower, nuclear power, and the political economy of energy resource economics, which covers subjects in land and water use, such as mining, fisheries, agriculture, and forests environmental economics, which takes a broader view of natural resources through economic concepts such as risk, valuation, regulation, and distribution Although the three are closely related, they are not often presented as an integrated whole. This Encyclopedia has done just that by unifying these fields into a high-quality and unique overview. The only reference work that codifies the relationships among the three subdisciplines: energy economics, resource economics and environmental economics. Understanding these relationships just became simpler! Nobel Prize Winning Editor-in-Chief (joint recipient 2007 Peace Prize), Jason Shogren, has demonstrated excellent team work again, by coordinating and steering his Editorial Board to produce a cohesive work that guides the user seamlessly through the diverse topics This work contains in equal parts information from and about business, academic, and government perspectives and is intended to serve as a tool for unifying and systematizing research and analysis in business, universities, and government

This book gives an overview of the problem of providing economics with a biophysical foundation, explains the importance of energy in economic valuation and aims to develop novel ways of evaluating the physical constraints of our planet and the services provided by the natural environment.

Energy Economics outlines the fundamental issues and possible solutions to the challenges of energy production and use, presenting a framework for decisions based upon sound economic analysis. This approach considers market forces and policy goals, including economic prosperity, environmental protection, and societal well-being. The second edition has been thoroughly updated, addressing dramatic shifts in the use of fuel and electricity, accelerated plans for the use of renewable energy, and pathways towards a lower-carbon future. A new chapter on electric vehicles examines its impact on transportation, the electricity market, and carbon emissions. Global examples throughout the book reflect the universal application of energy economics. With this economic foundation, coupled with perspectives from real-world applications, and perspectives from related disciplines, this text sharpens the student’s ability to understand, evaluate, and critique energy policy. A companion website provides reinforcement for students through multiple choice self-test quizzes and homework exercises, as well as additional materials for instructors. This textbook should be essential reading for students of energy economics, environmental and natural resource economics, energy-related disciplines, and general readers seeking to expand their knowledge of energy economics and policy.

This book provides an updated and expanded overview of basic concepts of energy economics and explains how simple economic tools can be used to analyse contemporary energy issues in the light of recent developments, such as the Paris Agreement, the UN Sustainable Development Goals and new technological developments in the production and use of energy. The new edition is divided into four parts covering concepts, issues, markets, and governance. Although the content has been thoroughly revised and rationalised to reflect the current state of knowledge, it retains the main features of the first edition, namely accessibility, research-informed presentation, and extensive use of charts, tables and worked examples. This easily accessible reference book allows readers to gain the skills required to understand and analyse complex energy issues from an economic perspective. It is a valuable resource for students and researchers in the field of energy economics, as well as interested readers with an interdisciplinary background.