Mastering Renewable & Alternative Energies Training Course

Over three highly intensive days, this course:

• Presents a broad overview of a wide range of energy technologies and issues
• Integrates technical & commercial considerations for industry not academia
• Provides global perspectives to renewable and alternative energy opportunities
• Addresses both power generation and transportation sectors
• Considers energy efficiency and sustainability
• Explores alternative futures for primary energy supply without ignoring fossil fuels

Scroll down for agenda or book on the course.

Day 1: Renewable Energy Trends in Global Supply & Demand

Fundamental & Global Issues

• What are energy and power?
• Appropriate units for energy measurement
• The growing renewable energy markets
• Two different problems: static and non-static energy consumption
• Evolution and continued growth of per capita energy consumption
• Energy intensity versus energy efficiency
• Changes in the ways we consume energy: increase in service, IT equipment consumption
• Energy consumed in moving materials: freight miles

Power Sector Efficiencies

• Comparison of energy yields for various renewable & non-renewable sources
• Cost of supply for various sources of energy – energy economics
• Energy balance sheet: demand versus supply – example USA
• Supply side renewable energy scenarios for the future
  ~ Case Study: UK
• Heating & cooling requirements
• Motivating renewable energy uptake

Renewable & Alternative Energy Strategies for Large Scale Supply & Demand

• Producing energy at meaningful scales – renewable energy footprints
• Renewable export projects: using energy generated by others
• Renewable export projects
  ~ Case Study: Desertec
• Prospect and fears of an “OPEC”- like international cartel for global renewables

Renewable Energy Project Financing

• Project planning
• Project stakeholders & term sheet issues
• Risk issues & their mitigation
• Financing structures
  ~ Case Study: United States
• Export credits & government guarantees
• Security & project bankability
• Carbon finance subsidies
  ~ Case Study: CDM India
• Roles for multi-lateral agencies & development banks

Day 2: Renewable & Alternative Energies Available for Power Generation

Renewable Options for Power Generation

• Nuclear energy: technology, safety, cost & waste handling/decommissioning issues
• Biomass & waste for power generation
• Hydro power
  ~ Case Study: Bhutan

Wind Energy

• Global wind capacity & onshore wind power generation
• Offshore wind
  ~ Case Study: North Sea Wind Farm

Solar Energy

• Solar thermal for heating
• Concentrating solar power
  ~ Case Study: Parabolic tough, power tower, solar dish
• Fresnel lens and solar chimney solar thermal technologies
• Salt storage technology to store solar (CSP) power
• Solar photovoltaics: silicon wafer and thin film competition
• Concentrating Photovoltaic (CPV) technolog
• Solar inverters and optimisers
• Marine energy: wave & tide
  ~ Case Study: Pelamis
• Geothermal power: high temperature & medium temperature opportunities
• Hydrogen & fuel cells for power generation
• Sources of hydrogen and infrastructure issues

Grid Connectivity Issues

• Intermittency, fluctuating demand issues and embedded generation
• Grid security and grid reinforcement
• Pumped storage to back up renewables
  ~ Case Study: Pumped storage South Africa
• Smart grids and smart meters: their role in optimising deployment of renewable energies
• Electricity metering & feed-in tariffs
• Grid-scale electricity storage alternatives & limitations

Low Emissions Fossil Fuels

• Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) coupled with Combined Heat & Power (CHP)
• Clean coal and coal gasification technologies
• Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CCS)
• Gas to liquids, coal to liquids, biomass to liquids (X to liquids)

Emissions & Emissions Trading & Carbon Taxes

• Energy emissions issues for fossil fuels & renewables
• Understanding the earth’s carbon cycle and carbon dioxide atmospheric emissions
• Other energy emissions in addition to carbon: NOX and SOX etc.
• CO2 emissions trading systems
• Cap and trade concepts
  ~ Case Study: EU Emissions Trading System (ETS)
• Carbon cost impacts on the cost of power derived from fossil fuels
• Emissions reductions commitments & proposals of main polluting nations & regions
• Carbon taxes and renewables obligations as alternatives to cap and trade to subsidize renewables
• Political will to promote renewables and “tax” fossil fuels

Day 3: Renewable Energies for Transportation, Efficiencies & Sustainability

Transport & the Global Contribution of Biofuels

• Ethanol
• Biodiesel
• Algal biofuels
  ~ Case Study: Algae biodiesel test farms
• Aviation engines & fuels
• Biofuels for aviation fuel and aviation emissions issues
• Renewable transportation fuel obligations & mandates
• Transportation energy & emissions efficiencies
• Emissions issues and limits applied to marine bunker fuels
• Life cycle “Well-to-Wheels” emissions analysis
• The politics of biofuels and potential impacts on global food commodity prices

Vehicle Designs and Car Manufacturer Efficiency Obligations

• Flexi-fuelled vehicles
  ~ Case Study: Brazil
• Hybrid vehicles: parallel, series and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles (PHEVs)
• Natural Gas Powered Vehicles (NGVs): CNG & LNG
• Alternative fuelled vehicles: Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) and methanol
• Hydrogen powered vehicles and hydrogen fuel cells
• Electric powered vehicles: rail & road vehicles
  ~ Case Study: Electric Vehicle to Grid (V2G) opportunities

Energy Efficiency Opportunities

• How we use and consistently waste energy
• Micro-generation – Micro-CHP systems
• Distributed power generation versus large-scale centralised power grids
• Ground-Source Heat Pumps (GSHP) and air-source heat exchangers
  ~ Case Study: GSHP installations and Coefficient of Performance (COP)
• Building designs and energy efficient (insulating) materials
• Life-cycle analysis of building materials
• Lighting: low-energy Compact Fluorescent (CFL) and Light Emitting Diode (LED) versus Incandescent
• Agriculture & fuel supply energy issues

Sustainability and Global / Regional Population Issues

• Current global dependence on fossil fuels
• Challenges of population growth and investment in infrastructure
• Key roles for China, India and the developing world in future energy mix
• Can we live on renewables alone? Wishful thinking versus reality
• Alternative visions for future global primary energy mix
  ~ Case Study: UK
• Sustainable strategies and global energy scenarios
• Scaling up renewables and energy efficiencies: thinking big

The world is currently over-dependent on fossil fuels for our energy supplies and has a collective desire to move to renewable and cleaner alternative sources of energy. The growth in the uptake in renewable energies has intensified in the past few years and this is set to continue over the coming decades backed by industry and government initiatives. This course will provide you with the insight necessary to understand the complex issues and drivers associated with the viability and uptake of renewable and alternative energies and the financing of such projects.