Tag: wind

Energy and Civilization: A History – Vaclav Smil

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Despite many differences in agronomic practices and in cultivated crops, all traditional agricultures shared the same energetic foundation. They were powered by the photosynthetic conversion of solar radiation, producing food for people, feed for animals, recycled wastes for the replenishment of soil fertility, and fuels for smelting the metals needed to make simple farm tools.

The books from Vaclav Smil are a trove of knowledge on energy evolution. This book discusses the evolution of human energy advances over time, from agriculture to weapons.

The book reads more as an academic article, with a plethora of references and sources. One sixth of the book is just references. Very dense in knowledge and explanations, it overwhelms the reader with the sheer depth of analysis.

Smil tries to use largely a single energy unit, joules, to measure everything, from the various techniques to harness animals to work to the different ways to pass water through the watermills. The purpose is to quantify the evolution of human energy efficiency over time.

The book is encyclopedic in its depth and range, truly a history. The book dryness of writing and data is broken by very informative and engaging boxes, explaining various facts and developments.

The only downside is the grammar errors found here and there sometimes.

I was impressed by the precision and correct analysis of energy sources and transformations, missed by many pundits.

Also impressive is the general neutral tone regarding various sources that the author manages to impose.

Overall, an incredible book, THE book on energy history.

PROMO: Energy MBA in Bucharest

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The MBA in Energy at the Academy of Economic Studies (ASE) in Bucharest starts the registrations for prospective candidates between 23-25 July 2018.

Organized by the Faculty of Business Administration in Foreign Languages (FABIZ), the Energy Master is the best in Romania and is done in collaboration with representatives of the energy business environment (OMV Petrom, Siemens, CEZ, Electrica, Transgaz etc.).

Join the new challenges and be a part of the Energy Business!

The programme is open to all bachelor degree graduates, but candidates need one year experience in energy. Of course, a good command of English is required, as it is taught in English.

It is a flexible MBA, held during weekends, for 4 semesters. The courses range from “EU Policy in Energy” to “Energy Trading”. The professors and experts’ team is excellent, including one of Romania’s best energy professionals, Corina Popescu.

Please find below the brochure of the programme.

Brosura_MBA-Energie_6.2018

More information also at the following link: mba-energie.ase.ro.

Sources of electricity – wind

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Wind energy tapes the Earth’s winds to create electricity through wind turbines. Wind turbines can be HAWTs (Horizontal-Axis Wind Turbines), widely used, or VAWTs (Vertical-Axis Wind Turbines). VAWTs are designed to be used mainly within urban areas. The turbines can be deployed onshore (on land), producing cheaper electricity or offshore (near cost), producing more reliable electricity.

A wind turbine uses the inflow of wind to activate the blades and the rotor. They spin the main shaft and gearbox, which spin the generator, producing electricity. Blades work basically like a reversed airplane wing.

The design of a wing facilitates lift, while the wind turbine blade facilitates push, with the most important part (and most expensive materials) at the top of the blade, because most of the aerodynamic loading is created there. The blade is made of fibreglass (cheaper than aluminium, with similar structural resistance).

The rotor assembly is the main focus now for improving the turbine (Bazilevs, Wind Turbines: Future of Energy, 2014).