Alternative Energy Technology

Understanding the various people, industries and technologies that make up the clean energy sector is important for effective communication and personal growth throughout one’s academic and professional career. Students will learn to compose professional documents for written communication and learn how to deliver effective oral presentations. Students will learn to establishing a professional presence in the community by learning how to interact with a variety of people in the clean energy industry, creating a professional online presence and keeping up to date with developments in clean energy technology.

The vast majority of technical work in industry has transitioned to computers and software to improve consistency, accuracy and productivity. Students will utilize spreadsheet software to perform calculations, process data, and present results in graphically relevant formats. Computer aided two-dimensional drawing and three-dimensional modeling will be used to communicate technical information from a wide range of disciplines.

Electricity is playing an increasingly important role the clean energy transition, including renewable electricity generation, the electrification of building heating & cooling, and the electrification of transportation. By the end of this course students will be able to analyze electrical systems by evaluating the performance characteristics of the energy source, distribution, and load. Topics include electrical safety, DC circuit analysis, work and energy, EMF generation, wire sizing, the Canadian Electrical Code, AC circuit analysis, 3 phase circuits, and transformers.

The heating and cooling of buildings is a major contributor to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions in our society, but these issues that can be greatly reduced with high performance building envelopes and well-designed HVAC systems. Students explore key elements of thermal loads by understanding basic construction and thermodynamics as applied to the built environment. Students examine various heating and cooling systems, and thermal distribution systems to ensure thermal comfort to the building occupants. Emphasis is on clean energy systems and energy efficiency.

Bioenergy has many advantages over other forms of renewable energy – it has the potential to be done with lower lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions, it can be used to produce a wide variety of energy-dense energy products, and it can be used to treat undervalued organic waste products that are otherwise a burden and pose environmental problems. In this course, students explore the bioenergy industry sector with an emphasis on conventional first-generation biofuels. Students learn about and perform the operations required to prepare and purify conventional biofuels, such as ethanol from grains and biodiesel from vegetable oil feedstocks.

This course covers the basics of inorganic and organic chemistry with a focus on applications in alternative energy. Chemical concepts required for the understanding of current and emerging energy technologies will be emphasized throughout the course. Stoichiometry and organic chemistry will be utilized towards the understanding of biofuels such as bioethanol and biodiesel. Thermochemistry and electrochemistry will be applied to geothermal energy processes, photovoltaic cells and new battery technologies.

Conventional energy systems generally focus on producing only one form of consumer energy (heating, cooling, or electricity). In this course, students learn about waste heat recovery strategies and evaluate the energy balance of co-generation and tri-generation systems as a means to improve overall system efficiencies. Students learn about different types of boilers, evaluate their operation, safety measures and efficiency improvement techniques. Furthermore, students learn the design and operation of heat exchangers, district energy systems, and performance optimization strategies.

Solar Photovoltaics (PV) is an important part of the transition to renewable energy. Students will learn the fundamentals of solar PV including solar resource analysis, site assessment, electrical distribution, load, and solar PV system components and configurations. Students will design a site specific, residential scale solar PV system.

The heating and cooling of buildings relies heavily on the consumption of fossil fuels which greatly contributes to energy use and greenhouse gas emissions in our society. Geoexchange Ground source and air source heat pump systems provide energy efficient, low carbon, and cost- effective electrical heating and cooling solutions for residential, commercial and institutional buildings. Students learn basic and advanced principles of geoexchange system design, installation, and commissioning. Students learn various system layouts, quantify all required components, perform sizing calculations, and provide the necessary information to successfully complete a project from design to commissioning.

Wind and Hydro electricity generation are the two largest sources of renewable energy generation in the world. Students will learn how to characterize, describe and classify wind/hydro resources and electricity generating systems. Students will create project reports that include feasibility, site assessment, system design, installation, operation and maintenance, and economic assessment.

Energy storage is a critical component of our energy systems and is even more important as intermittent renewable energy sources take up a larger share of the energy generation market. Students will analyze the energy market to assess the current and future energy storage application and opportunities. Students will evaluate a wide range of energy storage technologies based upon their design, operation, applications and challenges.

Navigating the permissive regime of codes, standards and safety regulations is an integral part of a successful alternative energy project. Students will apply codes and standards, and learn to navigate additional processes such as permitting, for the compliant and safe design of alternative energy systems. Students will be able to recognize the importance of an integrated approach to Occupational Health and Safety in today's workplaces, while adhering to safety regulations and legislation.

Where multiple energy needs (heating, cooling, electricity) must be simultaneously serviced, the use of singular technologies for each load is not as effective as deploying a carefully balanced hybrid system. In this course students will create hybrid energy solutions that are cost-optimized and capable of simultaneously meeting multiple energy loads for residential, commercial, community, or industrial customers. Students will also learn about control strategies for operating hybridized energy systems.

It is generally understood that clean energy technologies offer environmental benefits over most conventional energy systems. However, investment in a clean energy technology usually needs to make financial sense beyond the environmental benefits. In this course, students learn the basic economic principles and business fundamentals within the clean energy industry, gaining the knowledge and skills needed to evaluate clean energy opportunities and communicate the value of an opportunity to a potential client.

First generation biofuels are typically made from feedstocks that could otherwise be used as food, such as ethanol made from corn or biodiesel made from vegetable oils. Advanced bioenergy improves upon first generation technology by using non-food feedstocks, often making use of undervalued waste products from other industries. In this course, students learn the principles of advanced bioenergy and biorefining through an exploration of a variety of advanced bioenergy technologies, such as anaerobic digestion for biogas production; cultivation of microalgae as a next-generation, non-food bioenergy feedstock; and technologies used for the production of energy-densified biomass products such as torrefaction, gasification, and pyrolysis.

Project leadership and project management skills are required for the formation of high-performance teams who can deliver projects at the quality level and within the time frame required by the client. Students will learn about the components of corporate culture and leadership behaviours that result in the formation of high-performance teams. Students will prepare a Project Charter and Action Plan for a real-world project. These materials will meet the expectations of a Capstone industry partner and will be designed in alignment with the expectations of the Project Management Institute.

The ability to successfully manage projects to completion in the face of ambiguity, uncertainty, and emergence is critical in the clean energy industry. In this course students will apply their knowledge of clean energy technologies and their project management skills to a related scientific, social, or technological problem or opportunity. Students will also build and manage high performance teams, use effective oral and written presentation skills, and plan their career.

Reducing the energy use of facilities is not only cost effective but also environmentally sustainable. In this course students learn about energy audits processes by which they can satisfy the sustainability and economic requirements of residential, commercial, and industrial owners. Furthermore, students learn about energy data collection, analyzing energy consumption trends, achieving energy savings through energy conservation and energy efficiency measures (ECMs), and about energy measurement and verification protocols (M&V).

Increasingly, businesses are focused on more than just making money. Many, if not most, businesses now have goals related to the environment, social responsibility, and governance (ESG). In this course, students learn the principles and frameworks used by companies to direct efforts toward corporate social responsibility (CSR) or ESG goals. Students apply industry standard methods of accounting for environmental impacts and greenhouse gas emissions through life cycle assessment and carbon accounting.

Globally, buildings account for a significant amount of energy use and associated green house gas emissions. Students will learn how to create and assess complete building energy models to support the design and approval process of high-performance buildings. Students will analyze all forms of energy exchange within various building types and constructions, with an emphasis on meeting or exceeding building code and high-performance building standards.

When transitioning from residential to commercial and utility-scale projects, it is important for alternative energy professionals to understand the different design considerations. Operation, maintenance and troubleshooting will be explored, along with the creation of start-up, commissioning, operation, and decommissioning plans. Students will learn how to use industry relevant software programs to complete project designs and integrate them into professional project documentation.

Energy performance and the resiliency of assets can be improved by the use of microgrids and advanced building automation. The consideration of energy flows, communication protocols, and automation & control strategies are required when undertaking whole building design. Students explore concepts, terminology, techniques and basic principles of building automation and control strategies, microgrid design, and the cost-effective operational & performance optimization to meet heating, cooling, and electrical loads. Students learn how to design and evaluate microgrids to meet specific functionality (resilience, arbitrage, demand response, load shifting etc), and reliability goals.

Energy efficiency in the building sector for both new construction and existing buildings is essential for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Green building certifications ensure optimized building performance to reduce energy consumption, increase occupant comfort and establish sustainable buildings. Students will be exposed to various green building certifications, gain knowledge regarding the construction process for retrofitting existing buildings, and learn the requirements for commissioning and post-occupancy energy analysis.

Millions of people from a multitude of different cultures around the world lack access to clean, affordable energy. Executing clean energy projects in diverse communities requires intercultural competency and communication skills along with cultural awareness and sensitivity. In this course, students build intercultural competencies through working on a clean energy or sustainability-related project involving people of a different culture. Students set intercultural competency goals, explore aspects of the community culture, and develop risk mitigation strategies.