SYLLABUS: MAE 119 W2018
Introduction to Renewable Energy Systems: Wind and Solar Energy
Last Update: 4 January 2018
VERY IMPORTANT: For email contact with the instructor or TA please put “MAE 119” first in the subject of the email. We receive many emails each day, and this helps to avoid us not seeing or reading your messages.
Course Objective: This course provides upper division science and engineering students to the underlying issues of energy demand, its link to human development, and a basic introduction to the physics of climate change and the Earth's carbon balance. We will examine current primary energy sources, conversion techniques, and end uses, and identify the likely future demand for low-carbon or zero-carbon energy. Students will then learn about the basic principles of solar radiation—diffuse and direct radiation; elementary solar energy engineering—including both solar thermal and solar photovoltaic technologies; basic principles of wind dynamics—hydrodynamic laws, wind intermittency, Betz’s law; elementary wind energy engineering; solar and wind energy perspectives; challenges that arise when operating the electrical power grid with significant fractions of renewable energy sources. We will also examine the feasibility of other renewable energy sources and conversion technologies and determine which can most likley provide a material contribution to future human energy demand. An introduction to energy storage technologies is also provided and used to provide perspectives on electrochemical storage application to renewable grid integration and ground transportation. The class closes with an examination of technology diffusion, learning curves and projections about near-term and longer-term adoption of renewable energy technologies.
Texts and Other References:
Energy for the 21st Century, G.R. Tynan Lecture Notes
US Energy Information Agency Annual Energy Outlook
International Energy Agency - World Energy Outlook Exec Summary
Sustainable Energy Without the Hot Air - MacKay
& Supplemental Materials and Web Links Posted to the Class website
Assumed Background: Senior standing in engineering or physical sciences or equivalent. A basic understanding of elementary physics and thermodynamics is assumed, as is a background in calculus. Interested students with other backgrounds or major fields should speak with instructor before enrolling.
Grading: There will be 6-7 homework assignments, which are considered essential learning tools in the class; however these assignments are neither collected nor count explicitly towards your grade. Instead, the due date for the homework will be announced, and on that date the TA will post the homework solutions to the course website. There will then be a quiz given during the subsequent 4th hour, based on the homework assignment that was just completed. Quizzes will be graded, and will cumulatively contribute 50% towards the final grade. The lowest quiz score will be dropped in computing the quiz average, and there will be no makeups allowed on these quizzes except for absences due to official univeresity obligations or documented illness. We will also have a traditional cummulative final exam at the scheduled time which will count 50% towards the final grade.
Office Hours: You are strongly encouraged to go over anything from class during office hours, including general ideas and methods for solving particular problems. You should come prepared - that means that you have reviewed the relevant notes, you have done the assigned reading, and you have gone over any example problems that were provided. If you need help with a specific problem, you should bring the work you have been able to do.
Regrades: If you believe that there is a mistake in grading, describe the error in writing and give the whole assignment or exam back to the Professor – not the TA. Regrades are accepted for one week after graded work is returned to you, so, for example, if you receive a quiz back on a Monday, the last day to request a regrade is on the following Monday.
Academic Integrity: The professor take the principles of academic honesty very seriously, and expects you to read and understand the campus policy on Integrity of Scholarship. Any questions regarding academic integrity will be handled in accordance with campus policies as outlined by the Academic Senate and the MAE Department Policies.