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Renewable energy sources
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MOOC
Wind turbines and solar panels are likely to play a critical role in achieving a low-carbon power sector that helps address climate change and local pollution, resulting from fossil fuel power generation. Because wind and solar power output is weather-dependent, it is variable in nature and somewhat more uncertain than output from conventional fossil fuel generators. It is therefore important to consider how to manage high penetrations of solar and wind so as to maintain electricity system reliability. This introductory course, delivered by Ieading academics from Imperial College London, with technical input and contributions from the National Energy Renewable Lab (Golden, Colorado), will discuss what challenges variable output renewables pose to the achievability of a reliable, stable electricity system, how these challenges can be addressed and at what costs. Its overall objective is to demonstrate that there is already a range of established technologies, policies and operating procedures to achieve a flexible, stable, reliable electricity system with a high penetration of renewables such as wind and solar. The course uses a variety of country and context-specific examples to demonstrate the concepts. Policy makers, regulators, grid operators and investors in renewable electricity will benefit from a solid understanding of these considerations, thereby helping them drive forward the development of a fit-for-purpose clean power system in their own regional context.
- Subjects:
- Environmental Engineering and Building Services Engineering
- Keywords:
- Electric power production Renewable energy sources Electric power distribution
- Resource Type:
- MOOC
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MOOC
Humanity faces an immense challenge: providing abundant energy to everyone without wrecking the planet. If we want a high-energy future while protecting the natural world for our children, we must consider the environmental consequences of energy production and use. But money matters too: energy solutions that ignore economic costs are not realistic, particularly in a world where billions of people currently can’t afford access to basic energy services. How can we proceed? Energy Within Environmental Constraints won’t give you the answer. Instead, we will teach you how to ask the right questions and estimate the consequences of different choices. This course is rich in details of real devices and light on theory. You won’t find any electrodynamics here, but you will find enough about modern commercial solar panels to estimate if they would be profitable to install in a given location. We emphasizes costs: the cascade of capital and operating costs from energy extraction all the way through end uses. We also emphasize quantitative comparisons and tradeoffs: how much more expensive is electricity from solar panels than from coal plants, and how much pollution does it prevent? Is solar power as cost-effective an environmental investment as nuclear power or energy efficiency? And how do we include considerations other than cost? This course is intended for a diverse audience. Whether you are a student, an activist, a policymaker, a business owner, or a concerned citizen, this course will help you start to think carefully about our current energy system and how we can improve its environmental performance.
- Subjects:
- Environmental Engineering, Building Services Engineering, and Building and Real Estate
- Keywords:
- Environmental protection Environmental management Renewable energy sources Power resources
- Resource Type:
- MOOC
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Video
The Earth intercepts a lot of solar power: 173,000 terawatts. That’s 10,000 times more power than the planet’s population uses. So is it possible that one day the world could be completely reliant on solar energy? Richard Komp examines how solar panels convert solar energy to electrical energy.
- Subjects:
- Building Services Engineering and Environmental Engineering
- Keywords:
- Renewable energy sources Solar energy Photovoltaic power generation
- Resource Type:
- Video
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Video
Biofuels can provide energy without the reliance on environmentally harmful fossils fuels -- but scientists are still searching for a plentiful source. Craig A. Kohn demonstrates how cellulose, the naturally abundant tough walls of plant cells, might be the solution.
- Subjects:
- Mechanical Engineering, Environmental Engineering, and Chemical and Bioprocess Technology
- Keywords:
- Renewable energy sources Biomass conversion Cellulose -- Biodegradation Biomass energy
- Resource Type:
- Video
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Courseware
Energy storage will be of major importance when more and more energy is produced using fluctuating renewable sources like wind and solar power. This course concerns two energy storage methods: storage in the form of the artificial fuel hydrogen, and storage in the form of batteries. In the transition to a sustainable-energy future, both hydrogen and batteries will likely play increasingly important roles. Hydrogen has the advantage of effectively limitless scale up potential while batteries have the advantage of high energy efficiency. Methods for sustainable and renewable hydrogen production include solar, wind power, direct photo-electrolysis of water, thermal and nuclear methods as well as biological options. The students will learn about such production methods of hydrogen using renewable energy sources, and separation technologies for clean hydrogen. The application of hydrogen requires cheap, safe, lightweight and easy to handle storage of hydrogen. The course presents current options for storage of hydrogen, including light metal hydrides, large adsorption surface, and nanostructured materials, as well as gaseous and liquid hydrogen storage. It will be explained that the ultimate solution still needs to be found. Students will get an overview of most recent advances and bottlenecks, synthesis and characterization techniques. The electrical energy storage in batteries concerns the principles of (rechargeable) batteries, mainly Li-ion, and the relation of the performance with material properties. The relation between properties at the atomic level with the real life battery performance will be displayed. The principles will be explained in terms of basic electrochemistry and thermodynamics. The course will present recent advantage in the field of Li ion batteries. In addition super-capacitors, allowing fast (dis)charge and based on similar principles, are part of the course.
- Subjects:
- Building Services Engineering, Chemistry, and Environmental Engineering
- Keywords:
- Storage batteries Renewable energy sources Hydrogen as fuel Energy storage Hydrogen -- Storage
- Resource Type:
- Courseware