This course will provide an overview of the various types of renewable energy technologies that are rapidly growing today and will include an overview of the key operating principles, the basic components of each technology, deployment in Canada as well as advantages and disadvantages. The course will also cover an introduction to many of the key issues that surround energy technology choices such as demand and energy policy. Topics will include introductions to Energy Terminology, Energy Markets, Energy Consumption in Canada, Climate Change Policy, Traditional Energy Systems, Operating Principles of Wind, Solar, Geothermal, Biomass and Hydro power systems, including pros and cons as well as challenges and opportunities they are facing.
Students will not be required to have a technical background, but the technology overviews will include the fundamental governing equations to demonstrate the key variables that dictate performance.
Instructor: Timothy Weis
Tim Weis is an Industry Professor in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Alberta with a particular interest in renewable energy in electricity system transitions as well as remote community hybrid applications. Prior to joining the University of Alberta, he spent much of his career working on the interactions of technology, policy and business for renewable energy, including working for the Pembina Institute, the Canadian Wind Energy Association and the Government of Alberta. His graduate students’ research focuses on the interaction of renewable energy, carbon policy and electricity markets as they decarbonize with a focus on the evolution of Alberta’s electricity market including the increasing role for renewable energy, energy storage, price impacts and policy modeling.
