Photovoltaics for Commercial and Utilities Power Generation is an in-depth review of the solar industry development, and present day state-of-the-art. It emphasizes current and future applications of photovoltaic equipment in the commercial and utility energy sectors, highlighting its use in large scale power generating plants operating in the U.S. deserts. The book reviews all key aspects of the photovoltaic technologies from a theoretical point of view, looking closely at their design parameters, materials, manufacturing, quality and performance. It also covers the practical applications, focusing on large scale photovoltaics as a major alternative energy source. The author examines the advantages and disadvantages of each of today’s solar technologies and projects them into the future in search of optimized niche markets and maximum utilization. Key technical issues related to: manufacturing and test procedures, product quality and safety, field performance, environmental impact, and other issues are thoroughly analyzed. Lack of standardized manufacturing processes and operating procedures, fluctuating political and regulatory policies, and the different financing, legal and marketing aspects of the solar industry are amidst the topics discussed in detail as well. Photovoltaics for Commercial and Utilities Power Generation provides a 360 degree view of today’s solar energy products and the related manufacturing and operating procedures. It exposes the issues plaguing the solar industry, with the ultimate goal of finding the best solutions as needed to bring photovoltaic technologies to acceptable level of efficient, reliable and cost-effective operation in large scale power generation plants. Large scale PV power generation is one of the keys to meeting the energy and environmental demands of the 21st century. This book identifies the major issues and suggests solutions to the obstacles hindering the large scale deployment of photovoltaics in the U.S. and abroad.

The world's leading resource on biointensive, sustainable, high-yield organic gardening is thoroughly updated throughout, with new sections on using 12 percent less water and increasing compost power. Long before it was a trend, How to Grow More Vegetables brought backyard ecosystems to life for the home gardener by demonstrating sustainable growing methods for spectacular organic produce on a small but intensive scale. How to Grow More Vegetables has become the go-to reference for food growers at every level, whether home gardeners dedicated to nurturing backyard edibles with minimal water in maximum harmony with nature's cycles, or a small-scale commercial producer interested in optimizing soil fertility and increasing plant productivity. In the ninth edition, author John Jeavons has revised and updated each chapter, including new sections on using less water and increasing compost power.

Sustainable horticulture is gaining increasing attention in the field of agriculture as demand for the food production rises to the world community. Sustainable horticultural systems are based on ecological principles to farm, optimizes pest and disease management approaches through environmentally friendly and renewable strategies in production agriculture. It is a discipline that addresses current issues such as food security, water pollution, soil health, pest control, and biodiversity depletion. Novel, environmentally-friendly solutions are proposed based on integrated knowledge from sciences as diverse as agronomy, soil science, entomology, ecology, chemistry and food sciences. Sustainable horticulture interprets methods and processes in the farming system to the global level. For that, horticulturists use the system approach that involves studying components and interactions of a whole system to address scientific, economic and social issues. In that respect, sustainable horticulture is not a classical, narrow science. Instead of solving problems using the classical painkiller approach that treats only negative impacts, sustainable horticulture treats problem sources.

This multi-authored volume contains peer-reviewed chapters from leading researchers and professionals in silvopastoral systems topic in Southern South America (Argentina, Chile and South Brazil). It is a compendium of original research articles, case studies, and regional overviews and summarizes the current state of knowledge on different components and aspects (pasture production, animal production, trees production, carbon sequestration, conservation) of silvopatoral systems in native forests and tree plantations. The main hypothesis of the book is that farmers have integrated tree and pasture/grassland species in their land use systems to reach higher production per unit of land area, risk avoidance, product diversification, and sustainability. These production systems also impact positively in main ecosystem processes. Management of these productive systems, Policy and Socioeconomic Aspects provide great opportunities and challenges for farmers and policy makers in our region. The book is unique on this subject in Southern South America and constitutes a valuable reference material for graduate students, professors, scientists and extensionists who work with silvopastoral systems.