The module “Sustainability of RE Systems” provides the theoretical background for understanding main concepts and interdisciplinary scientific methods from the context as well as their role in the sustainability debate.
Main topics and methods which are focus of the course are:
- Strategies and dimensions in sustainability research and discussion: efficiency, consistency and sufficiency, as well as related concepts (e.g. rebound)
- Growth/De-growth and decoupling of growth and emission
- Life-cycle analysis
- Thermodynamic methods: exergy, EROI and related approaches
- Social indicators and their relation to energy use
- Economic indicators and related paradigms in the context of energy consumption
- Resilience and its operationalisation for energy systems
- Methods for developing and assess socio-technical scenarios

After successful completion of the module students should be able to:
- analyse, and critically compare and evaluate selected sustainability concepts and strategies addressing renewable energy systems
- critically appraise and analyse the principles and implications of selected scientific methods and theories for a sustainable energy supply
- critically evaluate the suitability and meaningfulness of different sustainability indicators, theories, methods and practices regarding their role and impact for developed countries, on the one hand, and developing countries, on the other
- perform an integral assessment, involving several relevant aspects related to the sustainability of a particular real-life renewable energy project as well as identify the main barriers, potentials and driving factors for improving it
- perform a literature review on selected sustainability approaches to a professional standard and extract the main related conclusions, and arguing critically on them
- present data and information both verbally and in the written form, including quotation to a professional standard