14:332:402 Sustainable Energy

A student who successfully completes this course will
1. Understand the desirability of establishing sustainability in the context of energy generation
2. Appreciate the complexity of the problem and the interactions between the various components of the global ecosystem
3. Understand the tradeoffs between environmental impact, resource depletion and economic development
4. Understand the technical basics of each of the major non-renewable and renewable sources of energy.
5. Understand the extent of the environmental impact and resource depletion of each of the major non-renewable and renewable sources of energy.
6. Be able to apply this knowledge in gauging different options for specific scenarios.

N = none S = Supportive H = highly related

• HW Problems (15 %)
• Two Mid-Term Exams (50 %)
• Final Exam (35 %)

Lectures 1-3: Introduction: Sustainable Energy; Defining Energy-Scientific and Engineering Foundations; Aspects of Energy Production and Consumption; National and Global Patterns of Energy Supply and Utilization; Environmental Effects of Energy - Confronting the Energy-Prosperity-Environmental Dilemma; Mathematical Representations of Sustainability.
Estimation and Evaluation of Energy Resources: Units of Measurement, Energy and Power; Comparison of Different Forms of Energy; The Energy Lifecycle; Estimation and Valuation of Fossil Mineral Fuels, Especially Petroleum; Lessons for Sustainable Development
Lectures 4-5: Technical Performance: Allowability, Efficiency, Production Rates: Relation to Sustainability; An Introduction to Methods of Thermodynamic Analysis; The Importance of Rate Processes in Energy Conversion; Chemical Rate Processes; The Physical Transport of Heat; Use and Abuse of Time Scales; Energy Resources and Energy Conversion.
Lectures 6-9: Local, Regional, and Global Environmental Effects of Energy: How Energy Systems Interact with the Environment; Adverse Environmental Effects Over Local and Regional Length Scales; Global Climate Change: Environmental Consequences over Planetary-Length Scales; "6 degrees can change the world"; Attribution of Environmental Damage to Energy Utilization; Methods of Environmental Protection; Environmental Benefits of Energy; Implications for Sustainable Energy
Lecture 10: Test 1
Lectures 11-12: Project Economic Evaluation: Introduction; Time Value of Money Mechanics; Current versus Constant-Dollar Comparisons; Simple Payback; Economy of Scale and Learning Curve; Allowing for Uncertainty; Accounting for Externalities; Energy Accounting; Modeling Beyond the Project Level.
Lecture 13: Energy Systems and Sustainability Metrics: Introduction and Historical Notes; Energy from a Systems Perspective; Systems Analysis Approaches; Measures of Sustainability; Drivers of Societal Change; Some General Principles of Sustainable Development
Lectures 14-15: Fossil Fuels and Fossil Energy: Introduction ; The Fossil Fuel Resource Base; Harvesting Energy and Energy Products from Fossil Fuels; Major Accidents: Exxon Valdez and Deepwater Horizon; Environmental Impacts; Economics of Fossil Energy; Some Principles for Evaluating Fossil and Other Energy Technology Options; Emerging Technologies; Why Are Fossil Fuels Important to Sustainable Energy
Lectures 16-17: Nuclear Power: Nuclear History; Physics; Nuclear Reactors ; Nuclear Power Economics; Reactor Safety; Different Reactor Technologies; RBMK and the Chernobyl disaster; Advanced Reactors; Nuclear Power Fuel Resources; Fuel Cycle; Fusion Energy; Future Prospects for Nuclear Power
Lecture 18: Generally on Renewables: Introduction and Historical Notes; Resource Assessment; Environmental Impacts ; Technology Development and Deployment; The Importance of Storage; Connecting Renewables to Hydrogen; The Future for Renewable Energy.
Energy from Biomass : Characterizing the Biomass Resource; Biomass Relevance to Energy Production; Chemical and Physical Properties Relevant to Energy Production; Biomass Production: Useful Scaling Parameters; Thermal Conversion of Biomass; Bioconversion;
Environmental Issues; Economics; Enabling Research and Development; Disruptive Technology.
Lecture 19: Geothermal Energy: Characterization of Geothermal Resource Types; Geothermal Resource Size and Distribution; Practical Operation and Equipment for Recovering Energy; Sustainability Attributes; Status of Geothermal Technology Today; Competing in Today's Energy Markets; Research and Development Advances Needed; Potential for the Long Term
Lecture 20: Hydropower: Overview; Hydropower Resource Assessment; Basic Energy Conversion Principles; Conversion Equipment and Civil Engineering Operations; Sustainability Attributes; Status of Hydropower Technology Today.
Lecture 21: Test 2
Lecture 22: Wind Energy: Introduction and Historical Notes; Wind Resources; Wind Machinery and Generating Systems; Wind Turbine Rating; Wind Power Economics; Measures of Sustainability; Current Status/Future Prospects.
Lecture 23: Ocean Waves, Tide, and Thermal Energy Conversion: Introduction; Energy from the Tides; Energy from the Waves; Energy from Temperature Differences; Economic Prospects; Environmental and Sustainability Considerations; The Ocean as an Externalities Sink; Current Status and Future Prospects
Lecture 24: Solar Energy: General Characteristics of Solar Energy; Resource Assessment; Passive and Active Solar Thermal Energy for Buildings; Economic and policy issues; Solar Thermal Electric Systems-Concentrating Solar Power; Power tower-central receiver systems; Parabolic troughs; Dish systems
Lecture 25: Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Systems: Semiconductor device physics fundamentals
Lecture 26-28: Performance limits and design options; Silicon-based cells (crystalline and amorphous); Thin-film cells; Concentrator cells; Current status and future potential of PV; Economics of solar cell production; Sustainability Attributes; Prognosis