pre410 - Renewable Energy Technologies I

After successful completion of the module students should be able to:

• critically evaluate and compare three major Renewable Energy conversion processes and technologies: photovoltaics, wind energy and one out of the following three: solar thermal energy, biomass energy or hydro power.
• critically appraise various electrochemical storage processes and the respective storage techniques
• analyse various system components and their interconnections within a complex Renewable Energy supply system.
• evaluate the Renewable Energy supply systems’ operational size and efficiency.
• critically evaluate non-technical impact and side effects when implementing renewable energy supply systems

Depending on the selected area, students should be able to:

• Photovoltaics
  • understand, describe and compare major technologies for photovoltaic solar energy usecritically appraise and assess various technologies for PV solar energy use and components involved in such solar systems.
  • size and evaluate the performance of solar systems as a function of their operation conditions, components and system layout
• Basics of Wind Energy
  • Understand the physical principal of wind energy conversion
  • Understand wind turbine aerodynamics
  • Critically evaluate and describe basic characteristics and functioning of wind energy converters
• Fuel Cells & Energy Storage
  • Understand the operation principles and main variables influencing different fuel cell technologies
  • Understand principles and variables governing the behaviour of electrical storage systems
  • Critically evaluate and describe electrochemical storage systems with a focus on batteries as well as hydrogen storage systems (electrolyser, gas storage and fuel cells)
• Solar Thermal Energy
  • understand, describe and compare major technologies for solar thermal energy use
  • analyse various system components and their interconnections within a solar energy system.
  • critically appraise and assess various technologies for solar thermal energy use and components involved in such solar systems.
  • size and evaluate the performance of solar systems as a function of their operation conditions, components and system layout
• Biomass Energy
  • understand the basic chemical background of bioenergy-related materials, systems and processes
  • understand different technology concepts for bioenergy usage
  • Understand the links between biomass sources and other production processes (different substrats, different deployment processes)
  • Get to know main economical and legal constraints for biomass energy use
• Hydro & Marine Power
  • Understand main technologies for hydro and marine power use (different turbine types, their different sizes and uses as well as main variables influencing the performance of the systems in each case
  • Understand principles and methods to assess the hydro and marine-power resource potential of a site
  • Appraise the links between different components in a water-based energy system to assess its overall performance
  • Identify critical points in the implementation and use of such systems