Clean Energy: Sustainable Solutions for Urban Cities   Tags: clean energy, english, international energy week, sustainability, sustainable resources  

Introduction

1.0 Clean Energy Technologies
1.1 Alternative Energy Sources
1.2 Carbon Capture and Carbon Sequestration

2.0 Clean Urban Transport
2.1 Clean Vehicles
2.2 Case Studies

3.0 Energy Efficiency in Urban Cities
3.1 Urban Planning and Buildings Efficiency
3.2 Power Generation, Transmission and Distribution
3.3 Case Studies

4.0 Energy Economics Overview
4.1 Energy Economics
4.2 Energy Market Integration
4.3 Carbon Trading and Carbon Credits
4.4 Country Case Studies

Frequently Asked Questions
Databases -  About selected databases at the National Library
Accessing the materials

To give the interested reader a flavour of the technological and economical issues surrounding clean energy technology today, we have compiled a sample of resources that are readily accessible from the Lee Kong Chian Reference Library (National Library Board, Singapore) - books, journal articles from databases, and websites - into this short annotated bibliography.

This 2009 edition follows from our 2008 publication on the same issue, titled "Powering Cities of the Future".

We hope that this select bibliography can be a useful teaser to the multitude of clean energy resources available for urban planners, energy and power industry players, engineers, government officials and the interested layman.

These are exciting times for technologists, environmentalists, entrepreneurs and investors. In recent years, energy security and climate change concerns have accelerated developmental policies and financial investment in clean energy technologies.

US$155 billion was invested in 2008 in clean energy companies and projects worldwide, a 5 percent increase from 2007 in spite of difficult financial market conditions, as announced by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

Global power capacity from new renewable energy sources grew 16 percent between 2007 and 2008, from 240,000 megawatts (MW) to 280,000 MW, as reported by The Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21). Existing wind power capacity grew by 29 percent to 121 gigawatts, while solar heating capacity grew by 15 percent to 145 gigawatts-thermal.

With strong government support and a business-friendly environment, Singapore is well-poised to be a research centre, test-bedding site, manufacturer and trading hub for clean energy technologies tailored for cities.

An electric vehicle test-bedding programme was launched by the Energy Market Authority in May in collaboration with Renault-Nissan and Keppel Energy. A call for research white papers in solar cell efficiency and storage systems for renewable energy was made by the National Research Foundation in August.

Singapore's efforts are attracting attention from industry players. Norway's Renewable Energy Corporation (REC) is building the world’s largest integrated solar manufacturing plant in Tuas, and Denmark's Vestas opened an Asia R&D Centre for wind energy technologies in Fusionopolis last year, with plans to invest up to $500 million.

Given the rapid developments and growing interest in clean energy, both globally and locally, a select bibliography is opportune to introduce interested readers to some readily available resources on this topic.