Admission requirements
This course is obligatory for students of the master’s programme Industrial Ecology.
We expect the students to have approximately high school knowledge of thermodynamics, chemistry, physics and electricity. For students with a non-technical background, it is highly recommended to study the material found here:
http://wiki.tudelft.nl/bin/view/Education/IndustrialEcology/RenewableEnergySystems4413RENESY/BasicIntroductions
Description
Renewable energy and sustainability are hot topics in public debate. How can we try to answer questions such as: Can wind mills replace the production of coal power stations? How can we reduce CO2 emissions? Can we survive on renewable energy? In this course, you will obtain the basic knowledge and skills to address such questions.
The course provides an introduction to technical and societal aspects of renewable energy (RE). Topics include:
different types of renewable energy sources;
the usage of these types of energy in buildings, industry and transport;
general principles and methods of RE conversion and integration;
fundamental and practical limitations of RE technologies;
market, policy and ethical perspectives on RE technologies;
Course objectives
After completion of this course:
you have a basic understanding of energy sources and energy systems;
you can explain the general mechanisms of a range of renewable energy technologies;
you can perform basic calculations to give a quantitative analysis of the efficiency, sustainability and viability of RE options;
you can discuss technical, strategic and societal perspectives of renewable energy.
Timetable
Mode of instruction
The course will consist of (i) a series of guest lectures by researchers who specialize in various topics related to renewable energy, and (ii) video lectures and other course material from the TU Delft MOOC “Sustainable Energy” (module manager Arno Smets, TU Delft). Due to the use of the MOOC, there will be a substantial amount of self-study.
Assessment method
Written exam (‘closed book’) and group assignment. A passing grade (6.0 or more) must be obtained in both components, and the final grade will be the weighted average of the two: exam (60%), group assignment (40%).
Blackboard
We will use Blackboard TU Delft to distribute course material and to communicate with students.
Reading list
The main textbook is “Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air” by David Mackay, which is available for free at http://www.withouthotair.com/. In addition, we highly recommend the book “Introduction to Energy Analysis” by Kornelis Blok for a more detailed introduction to energy analysis. Some of the lectures will be based on this book. Additional course materials for specific topics will be provided on Blackboard TU Delft.
Registration
Because this course is part of a programme of Leiden University and TU Delft, all students have to be enrolled to both universities.
All students have to enroll for course and exam at the start of the course via uSis, Leiden University. For classnumbers see here.
Students who are not enrolled to the master’s programme Industrial Ecology have to ask permission from the studyadvisor of Industrial Ecology at least one month before start of the course by use of this form.
Exchange students can only enroll for this course if their home university has an Exchange agreement with both Leiden University and TU Delft. Exchange students have to ask permission from the studyadvisor of Industrial Ecology as soon as possible, preferably six months before the start of the course.
Contact information
Mrs. dr. H.H.Hansen
A.Ghorbani
Remarks
More information and the description of the course is published in the e-studyguide of TU Delft.