It is perhaps trite to observe that the laws of science that determine technical feasibility are immutable, whereas engineering design and manufacturing costs vary from place to place and from time to time. Thus, many goods that formerly were made in developed countries are now produced in lower cost, developing nations. Technical feasibility is, however, […]

The various physical and chemical techniques for energy storage will all continue to be investigated and developed. Of the physical techniques, pumped hydro and compressed air energy storage are the most promising for peak-shaving and load­leveling within the electricity supply network, provided the terrain and other conditions are suitable. For smaller-scale storage, further research will […]

It is anticipated that the harnessing of renewable energy will expand rapidly, in the light of widespread concern over global warming and the remedial actions that governments are taking. Despite such good intentions, however, there is every indication that, overall, renewables will still make only a modest contribution in 2020. It is vital, therefore, that […]

It seems inevitable that by 2020 coal will still be the basis of much electricity generation, worldwide. This is because some countries have large reserves of coal, but are short of other fossil fuels. Also, many large coal-fired power stations already exist and are expected to be still operating in 15 years time. The challenge […]

Natural gas is attractive since, among fossil fuels, it liberates the lowest amount of carbon dioxide per unit of heat produced. Several factors are contributing towards its greater use in industry, in commerce and in the home for space heating: • discoveries of massive amounts of gas have been made in many parts of the […]

Petroleum World petroleum prices are generally low in historic terms, thanks to the opening up of new oilfields in Nigeria, around the Caspian Sea, and elsewhere. At present, the supply of oil exceeds the demand, and this situation is expected to persist in the short term. There is, however, always the danger of prices collapsing […]

It has been estimated that between 2000 and 2025 the world population will grow from 6 to 8.5 billion (42% increase). Most of this growth will be in developing countries, where there is huge unfulfilled demand for private cars. On this basis, the Fiat Motor Corporation has projected that over the same period the global […]

Traditional incandescent filament lamps are notoriously inefficient, much of the energy is dissipated as heat. This is important when it is recalled that 25% of the world’s electricity is used for lighting. Fortunately, by no means all of this electricity is used inefficiently in filament lamps. Fluorescent tubes play a major role, particularly in industry, […]