RES | Graduate School

Study Tour

Modules are of 1-3 weeks duration and carry 2-6 ECTS credits; 3 hours of lectures in the morning plus a lab/project session for another 3 hours in the afternoon, five days of the week. Students complete individual or group project assignments for each module, take an exam following the completion of each module, and a final exam at the end of the trimester.

Course Description: Course content includes historical and current energy use, fossil fuel resource base estimation, and energy demand forecasting – future imbalance between supply and demand. New energy paradigm. Local energy resource availability in different countries. The need to reduce CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions; different scenarios and policies; implications of global warming and climate change. Political and economic implications of increasing scarcity of conventional oil – energy security of supply. The importance of renewable energy. Principles for sustainable energy development – is this possible? If so, how can we accomplish this?

Course Description: The first week of this course is a brief review of some of the main principles of  thermodynamics, heat and mass transfer, and fluid dynamics.  The following two weeks focus on a comparative analysis of the main physical and chemical characteristics and environmental impacts of fossil fuel resources, new generation of nuclear power plants, nuclear fusion, and clean coal technologies - future importance? Energy conversions and energy systems – combined heat and power (CHP), tri-generation systems (power, heating, cooling), and hybrid systems; energy conversion efficiencies.  Energy networks – grid connected systems and distributed generation; smart electricity transmission networks and scenarios of energy infrastructure evolution. Energy storage technologies; and innovative energy storage solutions.

Course Description: Advanced pollution prevention technologies in energy generation. Advanced pre-combustion separation techniques; separation techniques in solid, liquid and gaseous fuel generation. CO2-capture, transportation and sequestration techniques (CCS); CO2-storage technologies in various geological environments; CO2 use in EOR (Enhanced Oil Recovery); economic assessment and regulatory activities for CO2-capture and storage. Case studies, including CO2 storage into glassy basaltic formations in Iceland and the Norwegian Sleipnir CO2-injection project in the North Sea.

Course Duration: 1 week
ECTS Credits: 2

Time Schedule:
TBA

Professors:
TBA
 

Course Description: Course content includes; power market description and properties, power project layouts, power factors and turbine types. Dams, reservoirs and routing. Flow data presentation, flood analyses, precipitation and flow relationship. Operations research using water values, Quality of supply considerations. Power markets an expansion planning in Iceland.

Course Description: Course content includes a brief review of the nature of atmospheric winds and ocean waves; basic wind and wave statistics - wind and wave mapping; resource assessments and energy potential; tidal behavior and tidal power. Principles of wind turbine technologies; onshore and offshore wind farms; wave and tidal power technologies and power plants; and ocean thermal energy conversion systems. Renewable or “green” islands. Case studies from Europe and the U.S. Energy efficiency, costs and environmental impact assessments. Future prospects of wind and wave energy.

Course Description: Study tour in Iceland to a number of interesting sites harnessing renewable energy. The tour includes visits to high- and low-temperature geothermal fields, geothermal and hydropower plants, geothermal district-heating operations, research laboratories, various facilities utilizing hydroelectric, geothermal, biomass and hydrogen energy, as well visits to Iceland’s leading energy companies and institutions.

For an overview of the Study Tour in 2008 & 2009, site visits and photo gallery, please click here.

Course Duration: 5 days
ECTS Credits: 2

Time Schedule: TBA

Professors:
TBA