COURSE SYLLABUS

ENST 415 Renewable Energy

Semester
Fall 2015

Credits
3

Level
UG

Class Meetings
3 Classes (50 minutes)

Course Meeting Time: MWF 11:00-11:50, Room 0422 ANS (Animal Sci./Ag. Eng. Bldg)
Course Description: An overview of renewable energy technologies and current applications.
Emphasis will be placed on technological readiness, efficiency and sustainability of renewable
energy alternatives, and life cycle assessment (LCA). Technologies include solar thermal,
photovoltaics, biodiesel, ethanol, anaerobic digestion, wind, hydroelectric, wave, and tidal.
Prerequisites: Math 111; PHYS121; CHEM 131; or permission of the instructor.
Instructor: Dr. Stephanie Lansing
Asst. Professor of Ecological Engineering in the Dept. of Environmental Science & Technology
Office: ANS 1449 (Animal Science/Agricultural Engineering Building)
Office Telephone: 301-405-1197
E-mail: slansing@umd.edu
Office Hours: Wednesday, 3-4pm, ANS 1449
Context: Energy is the keystone of nature and society. All life on Earth is made possible by
incident solar energy captured and stored by plants and passed through ecosystems. Today,
human society is in an unprecedented growth period. Since the dawn of the Industrial
Revolution, the population, the economy, and energy use have surged, fueled by oil, natural gas
and coal. This growth will soon be limited by diminishing availability of oil and gas and
environmental constraints on fossil fuel use. Today can be seen as an opportunity to transition to
sustainable energy sources and utilize energy production mechanisms with the least life-cycle,
economic, environmental, and societal costs in order to support societys present day needs
without reducing the capacity to meet future needs.
Format: ENST 415 meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays during which time students
participate in lectures, complete in-class problems, engage in discussions, and work on a group
project. It is expected that all students will read the assigned material prior to class time. Exams
will cover both in-class material and readings. The project will be done in groups, with peer
evaluations used to inform individual grades. There will be some class time devoted to group
work, but it is expected that groups will meet outside of class time. Lectures will be posted online after class to facilitate discussion and ensure full participation of students during lectures.
Course Website: www.elms.umd.edu
Required Text: Renewable Energy: Power for a Sustainable Future (2012), 3rd edition. Godfrey
Boyle. Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN: 3527411879

Learning Objectives
Understand energy sources and their effects on human, environmental, and ecosystem health
Understand the basic physics of energy conversion, and energy production calculations
Evaluate the technological readiness and sustainability of renewable energy alternatives
Design renewable energy systems
Evaluate the environmental & economic impact of energy technologies
Learn the art of working in a group to create designs, presentations and written material.
Create a portfolio of renewable energy projects and learned information.
Grading:
Quizzes/homework/in class problems
Midterm Exams
Design Project
Design Presentation
Portfolio
Final Exam
Total

Points
65
200
100
25
10
100
500

Class Policies:
Missed classes: With prior arrangements, the instructor will provide notes to students who
cannot attend for acceptable reasons. Otherwise, students are responsible for obtaining class
notes and assignments. In-class assignments can only be made up with prior arrangements made
with the instructor.
Missed exams: Only in cases deemed acceptable by the instructor will missed exams be offered
as a make-up. Missing an exam without a University Accepted excuse will result in a grade of
zero on that exam.
Academic Honesty: Please see the UM student honor pledge at www.shc.umd.edu
Projects: The project will be given one month prior to the due date. The total project grade will
be 75% of the paper grade and 25% of the peer evaluation grade. Projects not provided to the
instructor by the assigned due date receive 10% off per day and will not be accepted after 4 days.
Portfolio: A portfolio with Renewable Energy Design Project, resume and statement is required.
Electronics Use: Please turn off and put away all cell phones. Laptop computers may be used
for note taking only - no internet, IM or games. If the Instructor deems that a computer is
distracting the student or those around them, the student will not be allowed to use a computer.
Religious Observance: Please inform the instructor of religious observances that will preclude
you from attending a lecture or exam within the first two weeks of class.
Counseling: If you feel that you may have a learning disability, you should contact the Counseling
Center on campus (Shoemaker Hall 301.314.7651; www.inform.umd.edu/cc/index.htm).
2

Schedule
Week

Topic

1: Aug 31, Sept 2 & 4

Energy & Fossil Fuels

Readings/Assignments: Readings are due

by Wednesday there will be two
unannounced quizzes on the readings (5 pts)
Boyle Ch. 1.

2: Sept 9 & 11

Thermodynamics

Energy worksheet (10 pts)

3: Sept 14, 16 & 18

Solar Energy

Boyle Ch. 2; Wengenmayr Ch. 5, 12

4: Sept 21, 23 & 25

Solar Photovoltaic

Boyle Ch. 3

5: Sept 28 & 30, Oct 2

Solar Photovoltaic

Wengenmayr Ch. 6 & 7 (PV problems, 5 pts)

6: Oct 5, 7 & 9

Wind

Boyle Ch. 7; Wengenmayr Ch. 3 (wind

problems, 5 pts)

7: Oct 12 & 16

Project Work

7: Oct 14

MIDTERM 1

8: Oct 19, 21 & 23

Hydropower

Boyle Ch. 5 (hydropower problems, 5 pts)

9: Oct 26, 28, & 30

Tidal and Wave

Boyle Ch. 6 and 8; Wengenmayr Ch. 10

10: Nov 2, 4 & 6

Energy Policy and

Biomass Ch. 18, LCA and Ecology article,

LCA

Delucchi and Jacobson article (article

analysis, 5 pts)

11: Nov 9 & 13

Project Work

11: Nov 11

MIDTERM2

12: Nov 16, 18 & 20

Anaerobic Digestion

Project work assignment (10 pts)

Boyle Ch. 4; Wengenmayr Ch. 11 (AD

assignment, 10 pts)

13: Nov 23 & 25

Biodiesel

Watch Fuel the Movie; Biodiesel: Ch. 3,

8.3 and 13.

14: Nov 30, Dec 2 & 4

Ethanol

Biomass Ch. 7 and Science articles (article

analysis, 5 pts)

15: Dec 7, 9 & 11

Project Presentations

Mon. Dec 14th

Portfolio

Wed. Dec 16th at 8am

FINAL EXAM

Portfolio due by 11:59pm

Course Topics, Objectives and Reading Assignments

August 31st, September 2nd & 4th
Introduction to Renewable Energy and Fossil Fuels
1. List renewable energy alternatives
2. Understand current U.S. and World fossil fuel usage
3. Compare fossil fuel and renewable energy use in the U.S. and World
4. Understand where fossil fuels came from and their relative energy values
5. Understand how electricity is made
Readings: Boyle: Chapter 1
In-Class Activity: Pre-course questionnaire.
September 9th & 11th
Energy Units and Thermodynamics
1. Understand energy types, the laws of thermodynamics, and energy units.
2. Learn to conduct calculations with unit conversions
3. Understand energy conversions between different forms of energy
Readings: Energy Worksheet (10 points due Monday, September 14th)
September 14th, 16th, 18th
Solar Energy
1. Explain the different pathways in which energy from the sun can be transformed to
usable energy
2. Analyze different designs for solar thermal heating systems and understand the
appropriateness of these technologies for different scenarios.
Readings: Boyle, Ch. 2; Wengenmayr Ch. 5 & 12
In-Class Activities: Solar Energy Decathlon House
September 21st, 23rd, 25th
Solar Photovoltaic
1. Know the difference between series and parallel wiring and its implications
2. Determine the factors needed for designing PV systems
3. Design and calculate energy from a solar photovoltaic system
4. Understand the environmental regulations, incentives, and barriers to solar systems.
Readings: Boyle, Chapter 3
In-Class Activities: Solar PV basics and discussion
September 28th & 30th, October 2nd
Solar Photovoltaic
1. Understand the environmental regulations, incentives, and barriers to solar systems.
2. Learn the newest development in solar PV design
Readings: Wengenmayr Ch. 6, 7
In-Class Activities: PV design problems due October 2nd 5 pts

October 5th, 7th, 9th

Wind Power
1. Analyze the different types of wind turbine design
2. Calculate energy production from a wind turbine power system
3. Understand the advantages and limitations of wind power
Readings: Boyle, Chapter 7; Wengenmayr Ch. 3
In-Class Activities: Wind turbine design calculations due October 9th 5 pts
October 12th, 14th, 16th
Midterm #1 (October 14th) and Introduction to Group Project
October 19th, 21st, 23rd
Hydropower
1. Analyze different types of hydropower plants
2. Understand peak loading and its implications in hydropower
3. Analyze the environmental implications of hydropower
Readings: Boyle, Chapter 5
In-Class Activities: Hydropower design calculations due October 23rd 5 pts
October 26th, 28th, 30th
Tidal and Wave Energy
1. Understand energy production potential from tidal and wave designs in terms of potential
and kinetic energy harnessing.
Readings: Boyle, Chapters 6 & 8; Wengenmayr Ch. 10
In-Class Activities: Tidal and Wave design calculations in class work
November 2nd, 4th, 6th
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Energy Policy
1. Understand variable inputs to a LCA
2. Compare different LCAs and understand how differences occur
3. Understand the impact categories for LCA
4. Understand energy policies in the US and the world, and how they differ
5. Understand how energy policy affects renewable energy technologies
Readings: Biomass: Ch. 18th; LCA and Ecology article; Delucchi and Jacobson article.
In-Class Activities: Article analyses due November 6th 5 pts
November 9th, 11th, 13th
Midterm #2 (November 11th) and Group Project Work Project outline and calculations due
November 16th 10 pts.

November 16th, 18th, 20th

Anaerobic Digestion
1. Understand the different microorganisms responsible for biogas production
2. Compare biogas plant scale across both the developed and developing world.
3. Determine biogas and electricity production from various feedstocks
Readings: Boyle, Chapter 4; Wengenmayr Ch. 11
Project: Anaerobic digestion design calculations due Nov 20th 10 pts.
November 23rd, 25th
Biodiesel
1. Understand the process of making biodiesel
2. Compare the energy, environmental, and economic value of biodiesel feedstock
3. Compare the advantages and limitations of biodiesel technology
Readings: Biodiesel book, Chs. 3, 13 and 8.3
In-Class Activities: Fuel the Movie
November 30th, December 2nd, 4th
Ethanol
1. Compare the energy, environmental, and economic value of ethanol feedstock
2. Understand the process of making ethanol.
3. Understand global implications of ethanol/renewable energy production
Readings: Biomass: Ch. 7, Science articles (Searchinger et al. and Wang et al.)
In-Class Activities: Article analysis due December 4th 5 pts.
December 7th, 9th, 11th
Project Presentations
Project due December 11th
Monday, December 14th
Portfolio due by 11:59pm
Wednesday, December 16th
8am: Final Exam