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DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2017/2018

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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Engineering : Postgrad (School of Engineering)

Postgraduate Course: Economic and Policy Analysis for Offshore Renewables (IDCORE) (PGEE11088)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Engineering CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityNot available to visiting students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryThis course addresses aspects of economic analysis and policy that are crucial for the offshore renewable sector: energy policy; investment appraisal (NPV, IRR); levelised costs; portfolio theory; markets and energy markets; monopoly power, externalities and regulation; "green jobs": system-wide economic development and environmental impacts.
Course description Indicative lecture list:

1. Introduction: World, European, UK and Scottish Energy Policy Contexts (4 Lectures, 4 hour workshop;

2. Markets and Energy Markets (2 Lectures, 2 hour workshop;

3. Monopoly, externalities and the case for government intervention and regulation in energy markets (2 Lectures, 2 hour workshop);

4. Project appraisal and levelised costs in the context of offshore renewables (3 Lectures, 3 hour workshop);

5. Portfolio theory applied to electricity generation in the UK (2 lectures, 2 hour workshop);

6. Cost benefit analysis (2 lectures, 2 hour workshop);

7. Green jobs: system wide economic impacts using input/output (and other fix-price) approach applied to offshore renewables (2 lectures, 2 hour workshop);

8. Green jobs: computable general equilibrium modelling analyses of renewables' impact on economic development (2 lectures, 2 hour workshop);

9. Tracking carbon emissions using system-wide methods: consumption (footprint) and production-oriented (Kyoto) measures of emissions (2 lectures, 2 hour workshop);

10. Energy policy in action: selected cases from around the world, including Scotland (1 lecture, 1 hour workshop).
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Additional Costs None
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2017/18, Not available to visiting students (SS1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 98 )
Assessment (Further Info) Please contact the School directly for a breakdown of Assessment Methods
Feedback Not entered
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. 1. Understanding of the goals, levers, constraints, analysis and decision processes relevant to energy policy and how these impact on offshore renewables, in particular.

    2. Appreciation of the principles of investment appraisal and ability to apply methods to examples of offshore renewable projects.

    3. Ability to compute the levelised costs of alternative technologies, and to interpret the results and their sensitivity to disturbances (including changes in policy).

    4. Ability to apply and interpret portfolio analysis in the context of Scottish/ UK electricity generating technologies.

    5. Understand the principles of cost benefit analysis and be able apply them to offshore renewable initiatives.

    6. Ability to provide a critical appraisal of the main methods available to calculate the level of "green jobs" in any economy, and to be able to explore this using input-output and computable general equilibrium modelling frameworks.

    7. Appreciation of the impact of renewables on consumption- and production-oriented indicators of greenhouse gas emissions.
Reading List
Indicative reading:

Hanley, N. and Barbier, E. B. (eds) (2009) Cost-Benefit Analysis and Environmental Policy. (Edward Elgar).

G. Allan, M. Gilmartin, P. McGregor & K. Swales (2011) 'Levelised costs of wave and tidal energy in the UK: cost competitiveness and the importance of "banded" Renewables. Obligation Certificates'. Energy Policy 39, 23-39.

G. Allan, I. Eromenko, P. McGregor and K. Swales (2011) 'The regional electricity generation mix in Scotland: a portfolio selection approach incorporating marine renewables'. Energy Policy 39, 6-22.

Fraser of Allander Institute Economic Commentary (2011).
Special Issue No. 1 'Energy and Pollution', January.

Input-Output Analysis: Foundations and Extensions (2009).
Miller, R.E, and Blair, P. D. Cambridge University Press.

Varian, H. (2006) Intermediate Microeconomics: A Modern Approach, 7th edition. London: W W Norton & Company. Chapters 24, 25, and 34.

Pollitt, M. (2008) 'The Future of Electricity (and Gas) Regulation', Electricity Policy Research Group Working Papers, n. EPRG0811. Available at
http://www.eprg.group.cam.ac.uk/wpcontent/uploads/2008/11/eprg0811.pdf
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Special Arrangements none
KeywordsOffshore Renewable Energy,Professional Doctorate
Contacts
Course organiserProf David Ingram
Tel: (0131 6)51 9022
Email: David.Ingram@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr Stephen Graham
Tel: (0131 6)51 7213
Email: Stephen.Graham@ed.ac.uk
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