Renewable Energy Resources and the Energy Systems

Objectives

The course aims to provide students with a fundamental introduction to energy resources, with a particular emphasis on renewable energy sources. Students will learn the key principles of how these resources can be utilized, as well as receive an introduction to various forms of energy storage.

The course also covers the structure of energy systems, with focus on the electricity sector, and provides an introduction to both business economics and socio-economic analyses related to energy production. In addition, important topics such as social acceptance, the role of public administration, and energy justice will be addressed.

Content

The first half of the course focuses on renewable energy resources and the principles behind their utilization, with particular emphasis on solar energy, wind power, and hydropower. Other energy sources, such as nuclear power and fossil fuels, will be covered more briefly.

The second part of the course explores how energy systems are structured—from generation and consumption to transmission and distribution. Students will be introduced to electricity pricing and how political and economic instruments can be used to regulate the energy market. In addition, the course covers the principles of business economics and social economic analysis related to the costs and revenues of electricity production. Key concepts such as net present value, levelized cost of energy, and system costs will be introduced and discussed. The course concludes with modules on the importance of social acceptance and legitimacy, as well as the role of public governance.

On completion of the course the student should have the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge

The student

• can explain different energy resources and their relative roles in national and global energy supply
• can describe how energy is used and the corresponding requirements for energy supply
• can assess the potential future use of various energy sources
• can understand how electricity is priced
• can be familiar with the principles for calculating business and social economic costs and revenues related to electricity production
• can understand the different dimensions of social acceptance, including socio-political acceptance, community acceptance, and market acceptance

Skills

The student

• can use basic terminology and expressions within the field of energy
• can perform calculations on the available energy from various resources and the corresponding efficiencies in converting them to electricity
• can estimate energy costs and revenues related to electricity production

General competence

The student

• can apply critical thinking and physical understanding to assess the challenges and opportunities related to the utilization of energy resources and the planning of energy systems
• can communicate with others about the physical, technical, economic and social aspects of different energy resources and energy conversion