University of California at Santa Cruz
Baskin School of Engineering
Electrical Engineering Department
EE80J: Renewable Energy Sources
Spring 2008


NEWS

6/9/2008 All grades (except report 4) are updated on WebCT.

 

6/8/2008 Final Exam with be on Thursday, June 12, 8:00–11:00am in the classroom. Please bring pink Scantron forms. We will use the higher of your grade in in-class activities or in the final exam, so if did very well in in-class activities you don’t need to take the final exam (please email TA oxanchik@gmail.com if you are planning to take the final exam. This way, we make the necessary number of copies). If you are taking EE80J as upper division credit, then you have to take the final exam and your exam will be more comprehensive. Here is a sample final exam questions.

 

5/30/2007 Self/peer evaluation form for the report 4 (proposal) is due on Tuesday June 3rd at 4pm (printed copy in class, electronic copy on WebCT) –see Chris Bacon’s email on 5/26

 

5/15/2007 Mandatory meeting with the instructor on report 4 (proposals) Each group should send an email to the instructor (ali@soe.ucsc.edu) and identify 3-4 choices of a 15 minute time slot to meet and go over your progress in report 4 (proposals).  The email subject line should be “EE80J Meeting+Name of your project”. The possible times are given below. The meeting will be in Baskin Engineering room 253A (instructor’s office). Please bring your rough draft of the proposal.

Wednesday 5/21,   5-7pm
Thursday 5/22,   9am-12noon, 2-3:30pm

Friday 5/23, 10am-12noon, 2-4pm

 

 

5/6/08 Report 3 (Literature Search): Check references about daily life during your assigned period (see below) and summarize information about energy usage and the predictions made at that time about lifestyle in the future. Make sure to mention any specific comments about energy generation, conversion, transport, and its use. Analyze correct and incorrect predictions.

 

Please see below the assigned periods which depend on the student ID number. It is important that you write down all the references that you use for your report. The report should be at least 1 page single space and 1” margins (not including the references). Don’t only rely on the web search. Visit the library and ask where you can find information about historical lifestyles and energy usage. You have to include at least 3 references from published newspapers, world almanacs, journals or books.

 

If student ID# is ending with 0: Years 1000-1699

ending with 1: Years 1700-1749

ending with 2: Years 1750-1799

ending with 3: Years 1800-1849

ending with 4: Years 1850-1899

ending with 5: Years 1900-1924

ending with 6: Years 1925-1949

ending with 7: Years 1950-1959

ending with 8: Years 1960-1969

ending with 9: Years 1970-1975

 

5/5/08 Handout for report 4 , Guide for proposal outline, Example of proposals from previous years (Solar Kiosk, Bicycle, UCSC Energy Saving) –These examples are given just to give an idea of student projects related to renewable energies (EE80J) or sustainability in general (EE80S). You should follow the Handout for report 4 and detailed Guide for Proposal Outline this year.

 

5/1/08 New due date for report 3 (5/13/08, 4pm). Detailed instructions in class on Tuesday 5/6.

 

4/21(updated 4/25) Handout on personal energy audit (MS Word file, pdf file) Use this to prepare your Report 2. New due date for Report 2: Tuesday April 29, 4pm in the class + online submission through WebCT; Additional WebCT questionnaire related to the energy audit is due on May 6th at 4pm.

 

4/11/08 Make up discussion session on Monday April 14, 7-8:45pm, J. Baskin Engr. 165. It will cover Activity 1 (Energy and Power). This activity is important for Report 1 (in-class quiz on Tuesday April 15).

 

4/9/08 Course reader is now available at UCSC Bookstore (it costs ~$20).

 

4/4/08 Viewgraphs from the lecture on 4/3 are now available in the schedule below. pdf files of the reading material for the first 4 lectures are also included.

 

4/4/08 The discussion session 01F (Thursdays 2-3:45pm, J Baskin Engr. 165) is reserved for students who want to take the upper division version of the course. If you have any questions, please contact the TA.

 

 


Instructor:

Ali Shakouri

Office:

253A Baskin Engineering Building

Phone:

(831) 459-3821

email:

ali@soe.ucsc.edu

Lecture:

Baskin Engineering  Auditorium 101; T,Th 4-5:45pm

Office Hours:

Wednesday 4-5pm, Thursday 1-2pm

Discussion Sessions:

01A     M         07:00PM-08:45PM      J Baskin Engr 165

01B      Tu        02:00PM-03:45PM      J Baskin Engr 165

01C     W        05:00PM-06:45PM      Crown Clrm 208

01D     W        07:00PM-08:45PM      J Baskin Engr 165

01E      Th        12:00PM-01:45PM      J Baskin Engr 372

01F      Th        02:00PM-03:45PM      J Baskin Engr 165 *Reserved for students who want to take the upper division version of the course*

EE80J students will have to attend five discussion sessions during the term (~ once every other week) –10% of the final grade-

Teaching Assistants:

Head TA: Chris Bacon christophermbacon@gmail.com

TA: Oxana Pantchenko oxanchik@gmail.com

Reader/Grader:

Gabe Sady gsady@ucsc.edu

Texts:

(reserve at Science Library, 1 day)

·           Course Reader (Bay Tree bookstore)

·           Energy at the Crossroads: Global Perspectives and Uncertainties by Vaclav Smil (2005)

Additional References:

(reserve at Science Library, 1 day)

·           Renewable Energy, Godfrey Boyle, 2004

·           Out of Gas, David Goodstein, 2004

·           Energy: Science, Policy, and the Pursuit of Sustainability  by Randall Baker, Lloyd Orr, and Robert Bent (2002) –selected chapters are included in the course reader- http://site.ebrary.com/lib/ucsc/Doc?id=10064667

·           Energy : Physical, Environmental, and Social Impact (3rd Edition)  by Gordon J. Aubrecht (2005) –selected chapters are included in the course reader-

Grading Policy:

Based on reports, in-class activities and final (see below)

 

 

Tentative Schedule (v.5, update 5/1/08)

Lect.

Date

Topic

Reading:

Energy at Crossroads

Course Reader, events

Additional Recommended Reading

1

4/1

Introduction/ Overview

 

 

Energy/Environment/Science/Technology (12 pages)

2

4/3

Energy basics, World Energy Usage, Nuclear Energy

Ch 2. Energy and the quality of life, Energy and environment (pp. 97-116)

Energy Basics (17 pages)

Lectures 2 & 3  Viewgraphs

Scientific notation (5pages)

B (p.2-6) Fossil fuels history (2 pages)

Nuclear energy history (4 pages), Nuclear energy (advanced reading, 7 pages)

 

3

4/8

Overview of Renewable Energy Sources

 

 

Basic electricity (9 pages)

Nate Lewis Article (Powering the Planet, Oct. 2007)

Performing calculations (5 pages), Electric power history (5 pages),

 

4

4/10

Heat and Thermodynamics, Electricity, Radiation

 

Heat, Temperature and Thermodynamics (12 pages)

Projections (4pages)

Order/Disorder

Electricity and Magnetism, Sun (5 pages)

5

4/15

Report 1 (in-class quiz), Class project

 

 

Greenhouse effect (2pages)

 

6

4/17

Home Energy Audit, Energy use and GDP

 

 

Home energy audit (course reader pp. 33-76)

Hot water energy (1 page)

 

 

7

4/22

Solar Thermal, Building Design

 

Course reader pp. 77-102

Lecture Notes

Large scale solar

(5 pages), Historic passive solar techniques (1 page)

8

4/24

Photovoltaics

 

 

Course reader pp. 103-110

 

 

9

4/29

Photovoltaics (cont.)

 

Course reader pp. 110-115, 137-145 Lecture Notes Heat/work demonstration

Photoelectricity (4pages)

10

5/1

 

Bioenergy, biomass

 

Solar cell demonstration

 

Course reader pp. 183-212 Lecture Notes

Biofuel production overview

11

5/6

Wind Energy,

Energy predictions

Ch 3. Against Forecasting (pp. 121-180)

Course reader pp. 146-156, Lecture Notes Wind, Lecture Notes Predictions

 

 

Wind development (4pages)

 

12 

5/8

Class project (report 4) –discussion

 

Review of renewable energies

 

Wind energy demonstration

 

Overview of renewable energies (documentary)

 

 

 

13

5/13

Hydroelectricity, Tidal Power, Wave Energy, Geothermal

 

Lecture Notes

 

 

14

5/15

 

Recycling, Energy saving (illumination/ appliances),

Energy Storage

 

 

Course reader pp. 157-181, Illumination saving (4pages)

Recycling (5 pages)

Lecture notes

Chapter 4  of Energy: Science, Policy, and the Pursuit of Sustainability  (2002) Culture and Energy Consumption by Richard Wilk

 

15

5/20

Economics of renewable energy sources

 

 

Chapter 6  of Energy: Science, Policy, and the Pursuit of Sustainability  (2002) Energy and Sustainable Economic Growth by Lloyed Orr

Borenstein: The Market Value and Cost of

Solar Photovoltaic Electricity Production (January 2008)

16

5/22

Energy in the society

Debate (energy consumption per GDP)

 

Guest Lecture (Prof. Ben Crow Sociology) Lecture Notes

Paper by Shove Revealing the invisible: Course reader pp. 227-231

 

 

 

Chapter 5  of Energy: Science, Policy, and the Pursuit of Sustainability  (2002) Energy Policy : The Problem of Public Perception by Randall Baker

 

17

5/27

 

Energy scavenging, electric bike, hybrid car

 

Guest Lecture (Prof. Ken Pedrotti, Electrical Engineering)

Lecture Notes: Energy Scavenging and Hybrid Transport

 

18 

5/29

Waste heat recovery, Direct thermal to electric energy conversion, Energy in transportation

 

Lecture notes on thermoelectrics

Thermoelectric demonstration

Car fuel consumption (2 pages)

 

19

6/3

Nanotechnology and its applications to energy conversion and storage, Renewable energy research at UCSC

 

Lecture notes on nanotechnology, UCSC Research; Alternative View on Global Warming: Wired Magazine June 2008

Smil, V. 2006. 21st century energy: Some sobering thoughts. OECD Observer 258/59: 22-23.

20

6/5

Clean Fuels, Hydrogen Economy, Fuel cells

 

Hydrogen/Fuel cell (5 pages) Lecture Notes

Fuel Cell demonstration

 

 

 

Final

 

Thursday, June 12; 8:00–11:00 A.M.

 

 

Course Description

This is an introduction to energy conversion and storage with special emphasis on renewable sources. Fundamental energy conversion limits based on physics and existing material properties will be discussed. Various sources such as solar, wind, hydropower, geothermal and fuel cells will be described. An analysis of different alternative sources will be performed and key scientific, economical and social roadblocks for large scale implementation will be examined. Finally, the latest research on solar cells and applications of nanotechnology on energy conversion and storage will be introduced.

 

Prerequisites:

This class does not have any math, physics or engineering prerequisites. All the necessary concepts will be introduced during the course.

 


Related Course:

Prof. Ben Crow, who is giving guest lectures in this course, covers the social aspects of the development and its environmental impacts in the course Sociology 179 (Nature, poverty and progress –dilemmas of environment and development). We are coordinating the syllabus of these two courses so that students who want to learn more about the societal impacts of development and the role of renewable energies sources can take Sociology 179. Sociology 179 will be offered in Fall 2008.

 


Reports/Projects (tentative) 

Report 1: (Individual) In-class quiz

Tuesday 4/15, 4:10pm-4:45pm.

The quiz will cover the material in the first two weeks. This should help with the personal energy audit.

 

Report 2: (Individual) Personal Energy Use Audit

Due Tuesday 4/29 at 4pm.

The goal of this activity is to calculate the total energy that you consume in one week. You will need to quantify energy consumption at home and for transportation (appliances, illumination, hot water consumption, car mileage, …). Could you suggest means to reduce your energy consumption? How much your total energy usage can be reduced?

-See handout (Word, pdf) for details-

 

Report 3: (Individual) Literature search/ predictions about future: 1 page (single space)

Due Tuesday 5/13 at 4pm.

Check references about daily life during your assigned period (see below) and summarize information about energy usage and the predictions made at that time about lifestyle in the future. Make sure to mention any specific comments about energy generation, conversion, transport, and its use. Analyze correct and incorrect predictions.

 

Please see below the assigned periods which depend on the student ID number. It is important that you write down all the references that you use for your report. The report should be at least 1 page single space and 1” margins (not including the references). Don’t only rely on the web search. Visit the library and ask where you can find information about historical lifestyles and energy usage. You have to include at least 3 references from published newspapers, world almanacs, journals or books.

 

If student ID# is ending with 0: Years 1000-1699

ending with 1: Years 1700-1749

ending with 2: Years 1750-1799

ending with 3: Years 1800-1849

ending with 4: Years 1850-1899

ending with 5: Years 1900-1924

ending with 6: Years 1925-1949

ending with 7: Years 1950-1959

ending with 8: Years 1960-1969

ending with 9: Years 1970-1975

 

 

Report 4: (Group Project) Write a Proposal Related to Renewable Energies, 10 pages

May 6th: Project outlines due in Lecture (10 points).

May 15th: Complete Rough Draft Due (20 points)

May 27th: Final Written Project Due (70 points)

June 3rd: Self/Peer Evaluation Form Due

 

Write a proposal to a Private Foundation, the National Science Foundation, etc. about an idea to help with the energy crisis in the future. The proposal should include (abstract, introduction, statement of the problem, proposed solution, implementation, budget, personnel, and timeline). The ideas could be scientific (e.g. how to make a better solar cell), or non-scientific for a company, store, school, hospital or for a city, state or country on how to improve energy efficiency, increase recycling, reduce pollution, increase the use of renewable energies.

-See Report 4  handout, Guide for proposal write up, Example of proposals from previous years (Solar Kiosk, Bicycle, UCSC Energy Saving) –These examples are given just to give an idea of student projects related to renewable energies (EE80J) or sustainability in general (EE80S). You should follow the Handout for report 4 and detailed Guide for Proposal Outline this year.

 

May 6th: (10 points).  Project outlines due in Lecture. (This is your initial idea, which who your partner(s) are, research questions, implementation goals and timelines.  Feedback will be provided within a week.  We also expect you to contact other students as well as the individuals and organizations currently involved in this work).   An interview and background information

 

May 15th Complete Rough Draft Due (20 points)

This will be a full first draft, structured according to the project description and including 10 pages of narrative text.  We expect only one draft per group. You will get feed-back through a peer review process in section as well as from the graders/TAs / instructors and allied project partners.

 

May 27th Final Written Project Due (70 points) (final demonstrations and posters must be finished by June 1) In addition to the final written project, we also expect you to develop a way to creatively communicate your project in a group presentation done in section.  Also please remember that the full project is worth 30% of your course grade. There are several components relevant to the final project and they include the following:

  Your group will have 7 minutes for this presentation. 

  There will also be peer review process in which each member will state their contribution to the group and evaluate the contributions made by other team members.

  There will be a demonstration component that could consist of a poster, model, or some other creative format.  We will speak more about this later in the quarter.

  If you write an outstanding project you may ask you to submit this to a granting institution (government, foundation or other) to finance this project. This is optional, but it will be a great experience.

  No late projects will be accepted, please contact TA’s and instructors for assistance.

 

The final report will be evaluated as follows:

 

Creativity (originality and innovative thinking evidenced in both the proposal and implementation strategy)

10 pts

Implementation

     Have you clearly identified the steps needed to implement the final project? 

     Budget and budget justification 

10ps

Background (What is the context?  Are there other examples elsewhere?)

10pts

Peer / Self Evaluations *(See attached form)

10pts

Measurements (What measurements / estimates did you take?  Do they appear to be accurate? What calculations were made, for example did the team estimate the carbon footprint associated with a given technology, calculate a rate of return on investment, and/or estimate the payback time?

10pts

Overall Report (the overall quality of the final report)

10pts

References (Are the sources credible?)

5ps

Format and Clarity (Is the paper clearly written and formatted?)

5pts

*In exceptional cases the peer / self evaluations can a larger percentage of the final project.

 


Grading (tentative)

 

Report 1 (10%), Report 2 (20%), Report 3 (10%), Report 4 (30%), Attendance in five discussion sessions (10%), In-class activities or Final Exam –whichever higher (20%)

 

 

* A limited number of Electrical Engineering and Environmental Studies students can take this class as upper division elective for their major. These students will have to register for EE180J next year. Meanwhile, they can do this by registering in an independent study with the instructor. These students will have a special weekly discussion session where they will do a more quantitative analysis of renewable energy sources. Final exam of EE180J is mandatory and it will be more comprehensive than the one in EE80J.

Topics covered in these extra recitation sessions are:

§         Energy and power, energy conversion units

§         Heat and energy, 2nd law of thermodynamics

§         Solar energy estimation, site selection

§         Biomass energy content, energy balance

§         Wind energy estimation, site selection

 

 

Late reports will be penalized (-20%/day). You need to turn in your report before the deadline (typically at 4pm). To give some flexibility, each student will have a total of 5 days of grace period to turn in reports 2 or 3 late (you can e.g. turn in report 2, three days late and report 3 two days late without penalty). In addition, you can miss 2 in-class activities or one discussion session without any penalty.


In class activities

Links below can help you to take better notes during the lectures:

http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdysk/notetake.html

http://www.sas.calpoly.edu/asc/ssl/notetaking.systems.html

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/notes.html

 

Course Outline

 

  •  

Introduction 

Energy storage and conversion, brief  introduction to thermodynamics, world energy usage

  •  

Existing Systems

Power plants, engines, nuclear power, batteries

  •  

Solar energy

Semiconductors, solar cells, photovoltaic systems

  •  

Direct thermal to electric energy conversion

(waste heat recovery, hybrid vehicles)

  •  

Wind energy, hydropower, geothermal

  •  

Hydrogen, fuel cells

  •  

Photosynthesis and biomass

  •  

Nanotechnology

Applications to energy conversion and storage

  •  

Economics of Energy

  •  

Environmental and Societal Impacts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Additional Reference Materials

 

Dr. Steven Chu, Director of Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Nobel Prize in Physics

Nano*High Talk - 10/29/05 "Global Warming, the Energy Crisis and What We Can Do About It"

 

Rene