The energy revolution in underway. Renewable energy is growing at an astounding pace - notably in electricity. Wind turbines and solar photovoltaic (PV) systems account for most new power plants built worldwide, and are essential to building a low-carbon and sustainable energy future. As a result, there are countless new opportunities in renewable electricity.
Renewable Power and Electricity Systems
This course is part of Renewable Energy Specialization
11,823 already enrolled
(222 reviews)
Recommended experience
What you'll learn
How electricity systems work, from both technical and institutional perspectives
-The challenges and opportunities arising from renewables in electricity systems
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There are 5 modules in this course
The first lesson provides an overview of the course. The second lesson explains how electricity is measured and defined, and then dives into the market and technical details of the two fastest-growing renewable electricity technologies: wind turbines and solar photovoltaic (PV).
What's included
12 videos6 readings1 quiz1 discussion prompt
Electricity systems - also called grids - must provide reliable electricity, all the time. This task is further challenged by the rapid growth in wind turbines and solar PV, which are subject to fluctuations in the wind and the sun. These lessons explain how electricity systems use different types of power plants to provide reliable electricity, and then explores the rapidly changing topic of ‘grid integration’ - how to integrate large amounts of new wind and solar PV while maintaining grid reliability.
What's included
10 videos3 readings1 quiz
Two specific tools to ease grid integration of variable renewables stand out for their potential: Storage and demand flexibility. These lessons discuss how storage and demand flexibility work, describe their current status and limitations, and identify key opportunities.
What's included
14 videos4 readings1 quiz
Electricity systems’ institutional and regulatory structures are changing worldwide, and competition is playing a growing role in electricity generation. Why is this happening, and what does it mean for renewables? These lessons use case studies of Ghana, France, the UAE, and others to illustrate how the electricity industry is shifting, and discuss the growing role of Independent System Operators (ISOs) in grid operation and planning.
What's included
11 videos5 readings1 quiz
Renewable electricity is growing at an astounding pace, and the electricity industry is shifting towards greater use of competition in electricity generation. These lessons pull all the course material together and show how the pieces fit together.
What's included
4 videos1 quiz
Instructor
Offered by
Recommended if you're interested in Environmental Science and Sustainability
University of Colorado Boulder
University of Colorado Boulder
Universidad Austral
University of Colorado Boulder
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