THE UNIVERSITY of EDINBURGH

DEGREE REGULATIONS & PROGRAMMES OF STUDY 2021/2022

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

Postgraduate Course: Technologies for Sustainable Energy (PGEE10001)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Engineering CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Postgraduate) AvailabilityAvailable to all students
SCQF Credits10 ECTS Credits5
SummaryThis course aims to provide an introduction to the engineering principles and designs underpinning key sustainable / renewable energy technologies. It is structured to familiarise students with an analytical toolkit to allow them to independently appraise such technologies and their role in the energy system.
Course description The course offers a reasonably in depth introduction to renewable energy technologies. It sets renewable energy in the wider context and develops a basic qualitative and quantitative toolkit for appraising technologies. It examines each of the major technologies covering aspects such as: Resource, Conversion technologies, Practicalities, Economics and Environmental impacts. Finally it briefly examines how renewables can be integrated effectively within the energy system.

The course provides sufficient depth and coverage to build a comprehensive understanding of renewable energy whilst acting as an introduction to more specialist courses on individual technology areas (e.g. wind energy). The course material requires numeracy and knowledge of basic physics concepts.

The course deals mainly with renewable electricity generation and its role but includes some material on renewable heat; nuclear and conventional power is excluded. The lectures are:
- Sustainable energy: the context
- Hydropower
- Bioenergy
- Onshore and offshore wind
- Wave power
- Tidal power
- Solar energy
- Economics
- Integration of renewables

The course is lecture based which provides efficient summary of key material and techniques. These are supplemented by an extensive tutorial question set, examples classes and a text book. The course is challenging and requires hard work.
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
Pre-requisites Co-requisites
Prohibited Combinations Other requirements None
Information for Visiting Students
Pre-requisitesNone
High Demand Course? Yes
Course Delivery Information
Academic year 2021/22, Available to all students (SV1) Quota:  None
Course Start Semester 1
Timetable Timetable
Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) Total Hours: 100 ( Lecture Hours 20, Seminar/Tutorial Hours 10, Formative Assessment Hours 1, Summative Assessment Hours 2, Revision Session Hours 2, Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 2, Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours 63 )
Assessment (Further Info) Written Exam 0 %, Coursework 100 %, Practical Exam 0 %
Additional Information (Assessment) Coursework 100%
Feedback The extensive set of tutorial questions and delayed release of solutions encourages students to become familiar with material that ranges from basic concepts through to exam standard.
No Exam Information
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
  1. Describe¿key¿principles in design and¿operation of¿sustainable energy conversion¿technologies;
  2. Identify and evaluate key constraints (e.g. physical, technological, environmental, market, political) in design and operation¿of¿sustainable energy conversion technologies; and
  3. Apply quantitative and qualitative techniques to carry out basic design of sustainable energy systems involving multiple different energy conversion technologies.
Reading List
Boyle, 2011, Renewable Energy, 3rd Edition, Oxford University Press.
Additional Information
Graduate Attributes and Skills Not entered
Keywordsrenewable energy,sustainable energy
Contacts
Course organiserDr Camilla Thomson
Tel: (0131 6)51 3526
Email: C.Thomson@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr James Foster
Tel: (0131 6)51 3562
Email: James.Foster@ed.ac.uk
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