Download event prospectus in Adobe PDF format
An Introduction to Renewables

An Introduction to Renewables

The Essentials of Clean Energy Resources, Technologies & Markets

London, UK:  11—12, August 2009

Introduction | Enquiry | Registration

Course objectives

Whether you are new to the industry or want to refresh and update your knowledge, this comprehensive yet time-effective two-day training course will ensure you are up-to-speed with the key aspects of the renewable energy/power industries and the economic factors and technologies that are driving them. It is ideal for those new to the industry, or in related sectors such as finance, law, regulation, publishing etc.

You will learn how to evaluate renewable energy resources and the economic cases and market conditions which argue for (or against) them. You will understand the different, competing and complementary technologies available to harness and store renewable energy - including solar, wind, biofuels and geothermal - exploring the potential of each to contribute to current energy needs.

 

Level and Style

While the course will explain some key concepts in energy physics and technology, it assumes no prior technical knowledge and will do so at a very basic level. Indeed the course is specifically designed to be of value to those working in non-technical functions - those who need to understand the fundamentals of the industry; its economics and the development of technologies and market applications, but not the nuts-and-bolts of engineering or hands-on installation.

The course will run in an informal manner, encouraging time for discussions and questions to ensure that participants get the most out of their time. In order to better understand and illustrate the various topics, some simple calculations and other explanatory exercises will be incorporated.

 

Approximate Timing

Day One: Course begins:         09:00              Course ends:            17:30
Day Two:: Course begins:         08:30              Course ends:            16:30
 

(NB. timings are approximate and include lunch plus morning and afternoon refreshment breaks)

Agenda Details

Key concepts in understanding Renewable Energies

Introducing key energy concepts:

  • Energy, work and power
  • Forms of energy and energy conversion
  • Energy cycles and engines
  • Energy demand in the various industrial and residential sectors

Renewable resources:

  • Understanding the real physical and practical limits on available resources for solar, wind, bio-energy and geothermal
  • Tools, resources and simple calculations for analysing and comparing renewable energy proposals

Integrating Renewable Energy into the World Economy

Power Grids

  • Understanding the structure and operation of The Grid - and how this affects the deployment of renewable power
  • Power Demand and its impact on Price and Generation/Supply
  • The future: "Smart Grids"

Energy Storage

  • Methods of energy storage, local and grid-based
  • The impact of energy storage on the renewable energy business case
  • The technology and infrastructure basis of a ‘Hydrogen economy’

Introducing the key Renewable Energy technologies


Solar Energy

  •  Photovoltaics (PV) and a comparison of different types of PV material
  • Solar thermal and solar cooling
  • Concentrated solar power (CPV and CSP) for utility-scale applications

Bioenergy

  •  Sources of biomass feedstock, including processing residues, waste sources and energy crops
  • Conversion of biomass into fuels and/or electricity
  • ‘Next-generation’ biofuels, such as algae

Wind Energy

  •  The characteristics of wind
  • Wind turbine basics: operation, siting and control
  • Issues of intermittency and grid supply

Geothermal Energy

  • Mechanisms for deep geothermal heat extraction and power generation, including dry-steam, flash-steam and binary-cycle
  • Shallow geothermal and heat-pumps

The Markets and Economics of Renewable Energy


  • Market context: the wider energy market and competing energy/power sources
  • Grid Parity and Levelised Electricity Costs
  • Renewable Market Drivers (and hurdles):
    • Competition between and beyond renewable energies
    • Regulatory instruments and their impact
    • Financial markets, trading instruments and investment trends
    • Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) from fossil sources
    • Consumer and social factors

About Green Power Academy

Green Power Academyexists to provide the quality, impartial, informative and enjoyable training needed to increase and distribute knowledge and skills to green energy industry professionals. Whether you are new to the industry, have recently changed jobs or simply wish to refresh your knowledge, our training should become a key part of your personal or company professional development programme.

If you are interested in learning more about what we offer and wish to keep up-to-date as new course dates and topics are added to our programme, please bookmark and register your interest at: www.greenpoweracademy.com.

About the Tutor

Dr John MasseyDr John Massey is Green Power Academy's Training Director and in-house renewables expert. He combines a strong academic science background with over fifteen years experience researching and analysing technology industries and trends in the commercial sector (covering a range of technologies and markets including renewables, telecoms and electronics). He hasdelivered training globally, explaining the workings and financial / commercial context of rapidlyevolving technologies to senior, non-technical executives. He has also developed educationalmaterial for both live and distance learning courses.

Following a 1st Class Honours degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge, John gained a PhD in Earth Sciences and – in addition to his commercial experience - has undertaken further study in topics including Economics, Innovation and Sustainability.

Media Partner

http://www.commentvisions.com/