Providing energy for the entire planet without causing catastrophic climate change requires profound Energy Change. Major developments are occurring in the energy sector, both with energy technologies and the economic, social and policy measures that accompany them. This course focuses on renewable energy resources – the technologies that will comprise a large part of global Energy Change. It aims to help students identify the major ‘big picture’ questions in the area of energy resources and develop technically sound ways of quantitatively answering them.
The course commences with an overview of world energy resources, the scientific evidence for climate change, and an introduction to asking good questions - with a focus on ball-park analysis and appropriate physical units.
We next look at individual energy resources in detail (solar PV, nuclear, wind, solar thermal, hydro, bio, geothermal and tidal). We examine their scientific and technical foundations, available resources, integration with the grid, and broader economic and social issues to assess their ultimate potential as well as their practical limitations. Alongside the technical assessment of energy resources, we dedicated individual lectures to calculating the levelized cost of electricity, understanding the current and future electrical grid, and examining broader social and political issues concerned with energy use. Because of the rapid pace of change in this field, the course focuses on developing students’ skills in framing questions and finding answers, as well as being able to critically evaluate those answers and support them with scientific evidence.
Learning Outcomes
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
1. Explain the current status of global available energy resources and assess their trends and potential.
2. Thermodynamically calculate energy conversion efficiencies for fossil fuels and all proposed renewable energy technologies.
3. Describe for each technology the size of the technical resource, capacity for integration with the grid, costs and broader contextual issues.
4. Calculate the levelised cost of electricity for any energy technology, and explain the caveats of the method.
5. Develop the ability to ask insightful open questions, with an emphasis on quantifiability, normalised numbers, and the use of appropriate units
6. Explain the interaction between energy sources, energy efficiency measures, storage technologies and present/future demand patterns of electricity.
7. Develop a personal, quantified, well-argued view of possible energy futures.
Professional Skills Mapping
Mapping of Learning Outcomes to Assessment and Professional Competencies
Indicative Assessment
- Major project (40% total)
- Questions Portfolio (20%)
- Exam (20%)
- Letter to Minister (10%)
- Assignment (10%)
The ANU uses Turnitin to enhance student citation and referencing techniques, and to assess assignment submissions as a component of the University's approach to managing Academic Integrity. While the use of Turnitin is not mandatory, the ANU highly recommends Turnitin is used by both teaching staff and students. For additional information regarding Turnitin please visit the ANU Online website.
Requisite and Incompatibility
Fees
Tuition fees are for the academic year indicated at the top of the page.
If you are a domestic graduate coursework or international student you will be required to pay tuition fees. Tuition fees are indexed annually. Further information for domestic and international students about tuition and other fees can be found at Fees.
- Student Contribution Band:
- 2
- Unit value:
- 6 units
If you are an undergraduate student and have been offered a Commonwealth supported place, your fees are set by the Australian Government for each course. At ANU 1 EFTSL is 48 units (normally 8 x 6-unit courses). You can find your student contribution amount for each course at Fees. Where there is a unit range displayed for this course, not all unit options below may be available.
| Units | EFTSL |
|---|---|
| 6.00 | 0.12500 |
Course fees
- Domestic fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2017 | $3660 |
- International fee paying students
| Year | Fee |
|---|---|
| 2017 | $4878 |
Offerings, Dates and Class Summary Links
ANU utilises MyTimetable to enable students to view the timetable for their enrolled courses, browse, then self-allocate to small teaching activities / tutorials so they can better plan their time. Find out more on the Timetable webpage.
Class summaries, if available, can be accessed by clicking on the View link for the relevant class number.
Second Semester
| Class number | Class start date | Last day to enrol | Census date | Class end date | Mode Of Delivery | Class Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7830 | 24 Jul 2017 | 31 Jul 2017 | 31 Aug 2017 | 27 Oct 2017 | In Person | N/A |
