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DRPS : Course Catalogue : School of Engineering : Mechanical

Undergraduate Course: Sustainable Energy Technologies 4 (MECE10011)

Course Outline
SchoolSchool of Engineering CollegeCollege of Science and Engineering
Credit level (Normal year taken)SCQF Level 10 (Year 4 Undergraduate) 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; 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.
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
Not being delivered
Learning Outcomes
On completion of the course, a student should

1. understand the principles of operation of sustainable energy conversion by wind; wave; tidal; solar; bioenergy; hydropower; and other technologies;

2. understand and be able to apply the principal aspects of engineering design underpinning these technologies including basic quantitative techniques;

3. have a reasoned appreciation of the constraints on each technology, both imposed by physical fundamentals, and by current levels of technology and market;

4. understand the fundamentals of grid integration of renewable energy and the problems and constraints associated with this;

5. understand the fundamentals of economic analysis as applied to renewable energy 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 Hannah Chalmers
Tel: (0131 6)50 5694
Email: hannah.chalmers@ed.ac.uk
Course secretaryMr James Foster
Tel: (0131 6)51 3562
Email: James.Foster@ed.ac.uk
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