Alternative Energy Engineering

This course is a technical study of all of the major alternative energy topics. Thermodynamics, electrical principles, the related technologies for electric power and the current status of our non-renewable energy sources are reviewed. The multidisciplinary topics of alternative energy in the course include solar energy (photovoltaic and solar heating), wind energy (turbines), biomass, geothermal, wave and tidal energy, hydrogen energy and fuel cells. Energy generation system integration is also incorporated. The goal is to equip the students so that they acquire the essential knowledge regarding these technologies, and also have the skills to generate basic designs and to calculate performances of such system designs.