Course Outline

ME-416 Renewable Energy Resources

By
AP Tanveer Ahmed
Spring Semester - 2013
Course Designation

Elective

Credit Hours

No. of Sessions / Week

Session Duration

Prerequisite

Heat Transfer, Fluid

Mechanics

Course Outline
Energy & its Types
Thermal Energy
Chemical Energy
Electromagnetic Energy
Nuclear Energy
Mechanical Energy
Law of Energy Conversion
Energy Conversion & Energy Efficiency
Conventional & Renewable Energy Resources
Energy Mix of the World
Energy Mix of Pakistan and South Asia
Fossil Energy Resources & Technologies

Course Outline
Renewable Energy Resources
Definition & Types of Renewable Energies
Resource Availability, Technologies & Applications (From
International & Local Prospective
Solar Energy (Thermal & Photovoltaics)
Wind Energy (Resources, Turbines & Applications)
Hydropower (Resources, Turbines, Small Hydro Power Systems &
Applications)
Biomass Energy (Resources, Thermal & Non-Thermal
Applications of Biomass & Biofuels)
Geothermal Energy (Resources, Heat & Electricity Applications)
Other Renewable Energy Resources (Tidal, Wave & Ocean
Thermal Energy Conversion)

Course Outline
Greenhouse Gases & Climate Change

Energy Use & the Greenhouse Effect

Greenhouse Gases: Types, Inventory & Sources
Climate Change Impacts

Technology Options for GHG Emission Mitigation

Renewable Energy
Energy Efficient Technologies by Sector & End-Use
Cleaner Production

International
Perspectives

Climate

Change

Conventions,

Protocols

&

Developing vs. Developed Country Perspectives on GHG Mitigation

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) &
Conference of the Parties
The Kyoto Protocol & Flexible Mechanisms:
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
Emission Trading
Joint Implementation

Course Outline
Reference Books
Renewable Energy Resources (Second Edition), by
John Twidell & Tony Weir
Renewable Energy Its physics, engineering, use, environmental
impacts, economy & planning aspects (Third Edition) by
Bent Sorensen

Grading???

Quizs
Sessional-1
Sessional-2
Final Exam
Class Participation
Assignments (Groups)
Oral Presentations (Groups)

6
15
15
50
4
5
5

Introduction
Energy
Adequate supply of energy is a prerequisite of any modern society for
economic growth
A poor citizen in a less-developed country must rely on human and
animal power
In contrast, developed countries consume large quantities of energy
for transportation and industrial uses as well as heating and cooling
of building spaces

Introduction
Energy Consumption

Introduction

Power Consumption Rate

The worldwide average continuous power consumption
today is 2 kW/person
In the USA the power consumption is on average 10
kW/person
In Europe about 5 kW/person and
Two billion people on earth do not consume any fossil fuels
at all

Introduction
What Are Our Main Energy Sources?
Most of this energy comes form fossil fuels which are burnt in
power stations, factories, homes and vehicles
These fossil fuels formed millions of years ago, and are nonrenewable
Once the fossil fuels have been used up there will be no more to
replace them
Coal, Oil and Natural gas are the examples of fossil fuels
being used today
INDUSTRIALISED COUNTRIES NEED LARGE AMOUNTS OF
ENERGY

Introduction
Population Growth

The population of
human beings has
increased in the last
century by a factor
of 6 but the energy
consumption by a
factor of 80

Introduction
Energy Consumption

Introduction
Energy Consumption

Introduction
Alternative Energy Sources

Wind energy
Hydroelectric energy
Solar energy
Tidal energy
Nuclear energy
Geothermal energy
Biomass energy

Introduction
Comparison of Conventional & Renewable Energy Resources
Conventional
(Brown)
Coal, oil, gas,
radioactive ore

Wind, solar, biomass,

tidal

Source

Concentrated Stock

Natural Environment

Normal State

Static store

Current

Supply

Finite

Infinite

Source cost

Expensive

Free

Control

Steady

Fluctuating

Location of use

Invariant

Site specific

Pollution

High

Negligible

Examples

Renewable (Green)

Greenhouse Gas
Problems with Burning Fossil Fuels
Huge amounts of carbon dioxide are given off into the
atmosphere
Carbon dioxide causes global warming or the greenhouse effect
Coal-burning power stations also give off sulphur dioxide gas
which leads to acid rain

Video Clip-1

Greenhouse Gas
What is the Greenhouse Effect?
Carbon dioxide gas acts like the glass in a greenhouse
Infrared radiation from the Sun is usually reflected back into space
Greenhouse gases stop this, and heat is reflected back to the Earth
again

Video Clip-2

Greenhouse Gas
What is the Greenhouse Effect?

Greenhouse Gas
What is the Greenhouse Effect?

Greenhouse Gas
What are the problems with global warming?

The average temperature of

the Earth will rise

This can lead to droughts

Video Clip-3

Greenhouse Gas
What are the problems with global warming?

Extremes of weather will

occur
hurricanes
and
storms

Greenhouse Gas
What are the problems with global warming?
The increase in temperature will
speed up the melting of the polar
ice caps
Global warming will therefore
lead to floods

So all this burning of fossil

fuels leading to an Earth
that is suffering form many
environmental problems

Greenhouse Gas
What are the problems with global warming?
This photograph shows the
main Rongbuk Glacier in the
Himalayan mountains, Tibet as
it was in 1921, covered in snow
and ice and in sharp contrast
to the landscape today

Greenhouse Gas
Projected Impacts of Climate Change
Global temperature change (relative to pre-industrial)
1C
2C
3C
4C

0C
Food

5C

6C

Falling crop yields

Possible rising yields in some
high latitude regions

Falling yields in many

developed regions

Water
Glaciers disappear

Decreases in water
availability

Sea level rise threatens

major coastal cities

Ecosystems
Damage to
Coral Reefs
Extreme
Weather Events
Risk of
Irreversible
Changes

Rising number of species face extinction

Rising intensity of storms, forest fires, droughts, flooding and heat waves

Increasing risk of abrupt, large-scale shifts climatic

shifts

Greenhouse Gas
Other problems from the pollution from burning fossil fuels
Lead poisoning has been shown to affect the development and
progress of children living near motorways
Dust and gases in the air can lead to smog above large industrialised
cities
A hole is developing in the ozone layer which therefore will not filter
out harmful ultra-violet rays from the Sun