Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 1-1
Primary energy consumption in the U.S.A. in three major sectors, total 90 quadrillion BTUs in
1997. (From U.S. Department of Energy, Office of the Integrated Analysis and Forecasting,
Report No. DE-97005344, April 1997.)
FIGURE 1-2
The stagnant nuclear power capacity worldwide. (From Felix, F., State of the nuclear economy,
IEEE Spectrum, November 1997. ©1997 IEEE. With permission.)
power sources, wind and solar have recently experienced a rapid growth
around the world. Having wide geographical spread, they can be generated
near the load centers, thus simultaneously eliminating the need of high
voltage transmission lines running through rural and urban landscapes.
The present status and benefits of the renewable power sources are com-
pared with the conventional ones in
Tables 1-1
and
1-2
,
respectively.
The renewables compare well with the conventionals in economy. Many
energy scientists and economists believe that the renewables would get much
more federal and state incentives if their social benefits were given full credit.
