Abstract
The intent of Urban Wind Energy is to provide information on wind energy technologies and how to integrate them into urban environments for a varied audience of architects, engineers, planners, developers, investors, policy makers, manufacturers, and students as well as community organizations and homeowners. This book includes chapters on why wind energy should be a key factor in domestic energy supply, the types of systems appropriate for urban environments, how to conduct a feasibility study, details on wind turbine technologies, and an in-depth discussion on building-integrated wind turbines. The book includes numerous references to studies conducted on the information presented, real-world examples, and equations with step-by-step calculations to improve comprehension of the science behind the facts.
The conclusions of this book are that wind energy technologies are becoming more prevalent and should be increasingly integrated into the urban environment for many reasons. Renewable and domestic sources of energy address energy security concerns so that countries do not have to rely on importing energy from other countries. Renewable sources of energy, including wind energy, reduce environmental pollution from fossil fuels and reduce the related carbon dioxide emissions that contribute to climate change. Sustainable living priorities and sustainable building practices incorporate on-site energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Capturing wind resources via established wind energy technologies enables utilization of locally available energy sources. Siting wind energy technologies in the urban environment and on site at buildings reduces energy transmission losses from distributing energy from off-site in addition to other related cost reductions. In addition, siting wind energy technologies in the urban environment helps with the preservation of natural habitats so that the technology is not located in greenfields and other natural areas but instead in already built-out urban environments.
Overall, this is a very informative book. The main strengths of the book center around its detailed information on wind energy technologies and the design of wind-oriented buildings. Chapter 3, “Urban Wind Energy Feasibility Study,” is one of the strongest chapters of the book for several reasons. First, it explains step by step how to determine the feasibility of an urban wind energy project. Second, it identifies and provides a comprehensive review of the environmental issues associated with wind energy technologies. Chapter 4, “Turbine Technology,” is another good chapter in that it thoroughly covers all the design aspects of wind turbine technology in clear and understandable language and graphics. Related to the design of wind-oriented buildings, the authors provide some introductory information early on in the book and then include a very detailed final chapter with some creative design ideas and illustrative modeling options that may be new and interesting to readers.
In addition, the figures, images, and informational textboxes are very illustrative to the topics. The figures and images do an excellent job at displaying visually what the authors are describing in the text, and they tie them appropriately to the topics. The textboxes are a great way to break up the information and delve more deeply into some key pieces of information. For example, box 2.1 describes the calculation of wind turbine power clearly and understandably with graphics and explanations of the equations and variables. Another example is figure 3.2. Showing visually how wind behaves as it travels past buildings in a visual manner is an excellent way to help the reader understand a potentially complex discussion. The wind turbines shown at the bottom of the graphic indicates very clearly where they should be ideally located.
The book is also very nicely designed for readers. Both for navigation and aesthetic purposes, the chapters are clearly delineated by color and individual headers, so that readers can easily identify different chapters in the book. The text is nicely spaced on the page with room for figures and images, and the font is easy to read.
There are some areas in which the book could be improved on, related to its organization, readability, and incorporating additional information. For organization, there are a number of references to chapter 3 in chapters 1 and 2, indicating that some information in chapter 3 is essential for understanding the first two chapters. Thus, in future editions, the authors should consider incorporating a summary, or at least relevant pieces, of information from chapter 3 in chapter 1. In addition, in chapter 1, section 2 (Environmental Issues), a brief introduction of the negative environmental issues from wind energy should be incorporated, along with references to the detailed discussion later or the section’s title should be changed to “Climate Change Considerations” or something similar so that this section is not confusing. Lastly, providing a brief introduction in chapter 1 to the main types of wind turbines would help readers who are new to wind energy understand some of the references early in the book prior to reading those details later on.
For readability, there are some typos interspersed throughout the book, so those would be good to clean up in future editions. In addition, there are some idiomatic expressions and contractions used in the book that should be removed and reworded for ease of reading. Also, the authors may want to consider removing the phrase “of course”—it appears too frequently throughout the book and at times can have a connotation different from that desired by the authors. Lastly, for US readers, it would help to include the English equivalent measurement unit when providing numerical information so that US readers can better understand the quantities provided.
For additional information, there are some items that could be included in each chapter in future editions to support the information already provided in the book. For chapter 1, the authors may want to include a discussion on the synergistic benefit of hybrid systems, like solar/wind systems, which would address some of the concerns with availability and feasibility of wind energy. For chapter 2, the authors may want to include a brief explanation on the main differences delineating small and large wind turbines. Also, they should update and include more detail on upcoming technological inventions and new ideas related to wind energy and how they can address some of the issues with current technologies, such as no moving blades. Further highlighting future technologies will be very interesting and catch the imagination of readers. For chapter 3, in the section on noise, the authors may want to include a statement regarding challenges with manufacturers in providing accurate information, and in the section on birds, the authors could mention siting wind turbines outside of migration paths. For chapter 4, when introducing a horizontal versus a vertical axis, the authors may want to provide more explanation on why the horizontal axis has become the preferred choice upfront in the chapter—for now, and in the grid section, the authors could include a discussion on energy storage technologies and how including energy storage and certain types of connections to buildings can allow for energy to be in use by a building when the grid fails—which is a notable concern. Lastly, in the Appendix, the authors may want to consider adding a glossary or definitions section. This addition could be very helpful to readers who are new to this field.
This book provides useful information on wind energy for the varied audience of architects, engineers, planners, developers, investors, policy makers, manufacturers, and students as well as community organizations and homeowners. It offers a new perspective of wind energy by describing how it can successfully be integrated into the built environment by adapting information that is already widely known and addressing the common issues with wind energy technologies in the urban context. In addition, this book explores new areas of future technologies and building-integrated wind turbine design.
For scholarship, planners and students who are interested in sustainability and energy will find this book interesting because it is written from a planner’s point of view and gives examples on how planners typically incorporate wind energy technologies. Students will find the background information helpful as they delve into the topics. The equations and calculations will assist with developing a deeper understanding of the material, and the discussion on future-oriented building-integrated design will grab students’ attention and even inspire some to pursue this topic further in their studies. There are also references and examples that will help students tie the knowledge from the book into their studies and the real world.
Overall, this book offers useful information in an engaging manner for anyone interested in wind energy technologies, especially those focused on integrating wind energy into an urban environment. The planner’s perspective this book was written with makes it an excellent contribution to planning education and the field of planning practice.