EME 812 - Utility Solar Power and Concentration
This is a sample syllabus.
This sample syllabus is a representative example of the information and materials included in this course. Information about course assignments, materials, and dates listed here is subject to change at any time. Definitive course details and materials will be available in the official course syllabus, in Canvas, when the course begins.
Overview
EME 812 is one of the solar energy courses in the Renewable Energy track of the Master's of Professional Studies degree program in Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems (RESS). The course explores the main physical principles of key technologies for solar energy conversion systems, including photovoltaics, concentrating photovoltaics (CPV), concentrating solar power (CSP), and energy storage. It also covers fundamentals of enabling technologies such as light concentration, solar tracking, power conversion cycles, power conditioning, and distribution. Learning in EME 812 relies on analysis of existing solar plants that have been deployed in different areas of the world.
Objectives
When you successfully complete this course, you will have gained technical and theoretical background for utility scale solar energy conversion technologies to generate electric power.
Required Materials
Typically, there are no required materials for this course. If this changes, students will find a definitive list in the course syllabus, in Canvas, when the course begins.
Prerequisites
None
Expectations
On average, students spend 8 to 12 hours per week working on a 3-credit online course. You will have flexibility to spread that workload according to your schedule and your study habits. Time spent may depend on your prior experience with the web learning environment and reading pace.
The class is asynchronous, i.e. there are no live lecture time, but you will be expected to participate in online discussion forums at least twice a week and complete homework assignments by weekly deadlines. The homework assignments will typically involve applying the concepts covered in the lesson to example problems, online research, and calculations. Success in this class will also depend on the effort you put into your course project. The project will require in-depth research of a particular solar conversion system of your choice.
Major Assignments
This course will rely on a variety of methods to assess and evaluate student learning, including:
- Discussions (20% of total course grade)
- Reading Quizzes (10% of total course grade)
- Written Homework Assignments (30% of total course grade)
- Individual Course Project (40% of total course grade.
Course Schedule
| Week | Topic | Assignment |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Solar Energy Conversion and Utility Solar Power |
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| 2 | Concentration Fundamentals |
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| 3 | Tracking Systems |
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| 4 | Photovoltaics |
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| 5 | Concentrating Photovoltaics |
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| 6 | Power Conditioning |
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| 7 | Concentrating Solar Power Technologies |
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| 8 | Concentrating Solar Power Strategies |
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| 9 | Energy Storage |
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| 10 | Utility Scale Solar+ Storage |
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| 11 | Individual Course Project |
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| 12 | Individual Course Project (cont.) |
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