'Wind Power'

摘要

Paul Gipe is a knowledgeable and experienced exponent for the generation of electricity by wind turbines. This long book is his updated personal encyclopaedia. The author is keen to tell us all he knows about the development of the technology and its institutional infrastructure over the last 30 years, complete with many personal reminiscences. This edition is a culmination of a series of earlier developmental books and editions of similar title with other publishers. In his Preface, Gipe names this book 'Wind Power: Renewable Energy for Home, Farm and Business', thereby linking with the earlier roots and showing the progression of his own experience. He naturally addresses a North American readership, but is careful to include wind power worldwide, especially within Europe. In comparison with the earlier publications, this edition from James & James/Earthscan is outstanding in its graphic layout, with around 500 excellent colour photographs and diagrams. The book will certainly be appreciated as a holiday read by other enthusiasts, potential or experienced, with time to spare. In the style of a junior schoolteacher, he explains the technology and economics gently from first principles, for instance explaining electricity generation Faraday-like from magnets passed across conducting wires. He gives himself time to move steadily from such basics to greater sophistication, but always in colloquial style. This is not a text book as such, despite the generous indexing and appendices, and so has public appeal.