A transition from a fossil fuel‎-based economy to one that uses renewable energy has become inevitable‎;‎ this transition will not only be an engineering challenge‎,‎ but will also be an economic and environmental one‎.‎ Offering an interdisciplinary‎,‎ quantitative approach‎,‎ Principles of Sustainable Energy presents a comprehensive overview of the major renewable energy technologies currently available‎,‎ including biomass and biofuels‎,‎ solar thermal conversion‎,‎ photovoltaics‎,‎ and wind energy conversion‎.‎ Written by renowned expert Frank Kreith‎,‎ the book emphasizes economics as well as energy return on investment analyses for each technology and integrates the need for energy conservation with the overall aspects of building a sustainable energy system with renewable sources‎.‎ The author covers energy storage in depth‎,‎ as it is considered one of the most important‎,‎ and problematic‎,‎ requirements for building a sustainable renewable energy system‎.‎ Treatments of the economics of nuclear power and options for transportation systems are also included‎.‎ The book contains worked‎-out example problems illustrating engineering analyses from a systems perspective and problem sets to reinforce concepts and applications‎.‎ Examples and exercises relating to solar energy systems cover latitudes in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and use current worldwide solar radiation data‎.‎ But this text is not merely academic‎:‎ its clearheaded look at the energy picture from the ground up‎,‎ and the environmental‎,‎ economic‎,‎ and sustainability benefits that renewable energy systems can provide‎,‎ make it a resource for government and industry as well as a text for engineering students‎.‎