SUS 7200B Energy Systems Engineering for Global Sustainability
This course is intended to provide students with the background and tools to analyze energy choices for the future. World energy supplies, demand, and trends. The politics of energy. The scientific basis for anthropogenic global warming and its impact on climate and planetary ecosystems. Characterization and analysis of conventional sources of energy and fuels production including refineries, fossil fuel fired power plants, and gas turbine combined-cycle systems from both thermodynamic and environmental points of view. Alternate sources of power including nuclear, wind farms, solar (both photovoltaic and thermal), and biomass. Energy consumption by the transportation, manufacturing, and space heating and cooling segments of the economy. The hydrogen economy. Social barriers such as denial, lock-in, and NIMBY. After completing this course, students should: (1) Have a working knowledge of the supply and demand components of energy usage on both a national and global scale and the impact of the near-term end of cheap oil. (2) Have an understanding of the scientific basis of global warming and climate change, the predicted global impact, and the prospects based on various mitigation scenarios. (3) Have an understanding of the technological, environmental and economic aspects of producing and distributing energy from the entire range of inputs such as fossil fuels, nuclear fuels, solar insolation, wind, hydro, and biomass. (4) Be able to analyze, based on thermodynamic, safety, and economic considerations, the prospects for new energy technologies. (5) Be able to perform a systems engineering, life-cycle analysis of proposed technologies to reduce energy consumption. (6) Understand the societal and political factors that can inhibit the introduction of new approaches to dealing with our energy crisis, factors such as technological and economic lock in, perceived risk versus actual risk, and changes in lifestyle.
Contact Hours
3 hr./wk.