Energy supply, economics and transition
ENG-410 / 2 credits
Teacher(s): Thalmann Philippe, Ballif Christophe, Binder Signer Claudia Rebeca
Language: English
Summary
This course examines the supply of energy from various angles: available resources, how they can be combined or substituted, their private and social costs, whether they can meet the demand, and how the transition to a renewable energy system can be fostered.
Content
Energy resources (Christophe Ballif)
- Available resources and their properties (finite resources like fossil, nuclear fuel, vs hydro, non-hydro, renewable resources such as solar, wind, geothermal biomass)
- General aspects of energy management (grid transport, fossil fuel transport, heat and electricity storage, power-to-gas, heat pumps, district heating and cooling…..), including costs aspects and perspectives
Energy economics (Philippe Thalmann)
- The Grand Challenge: Reconciling demographic and economic growth with the limits of our planet
- Decoupling: What it means, what it takes; green growth
- Markets: How they work, why we like them, what can go wrong with them
- Policy: International climate policy; economics of innovation
- Wrap up: energy, human needs and well-being
Energy transition (Claudia R. Binder)
- Governance perspectives and social-technical dimensions
- Energy system transitions (from a fossil fuel to a CO2 neutral system) as socio-technical change processes
- Insights into drivers and barriers for the socio-technical transition of the energy system
- Routines, visions and disruptive change(s) from a resilience perspective
- Governance transitions of urban utilities
Case study: a CO2-neutral energy system in Switzerland
Keywords
Energy resources
Energy supply
Energy prices
Energy costs
Energy transition
Renewable energy
Decarbonisation
Decoupling
Green growth
Sustainability
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the course, the student must be able to:
- Critique theories and proposals related to energy supply
- Propose various scenarios for energy systems and their evolution
- Reason on technical, social, political and economic issues
- Explain the relationships between physical energy resources and energy supply
- Differentiate between scientific and propaganda arguments
- Restate concepts and mechanisms seen in class
Transversal skills
- Plan and carry out activities in a way which makes optimal use of available time and other resources.
- Set objectives and design an action plan to reach those objectives.
- Communicate effectively with professionals from other disciplines.
- Access and evaluate appropriate sources of information.
Teaching methods
In-depth teaching and educational support.
Assessment methods
Written exam
Supervision
| Office hours | No |
| Assistants | Yes |
| Forum | Yes |
Resources
Moodle Link
Videos
In the programs
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: Written (summer session)
- Subject examined: Energy supply, economics and transition
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: Written (summer session)
- Subject examined: Energy supply, economics and transition
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: Written (summer session)
- Subject examined: Energy supply, economics and transition
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: Written (summer session)
- Subject examined: Energy supply, economics and transition
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: Written (summer session)
- Subject examined: Energy supply, economics and transition
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks
- Semester: Spring
- Exam form: Written (summer session)
- Subject examined: Energy supply, economics and transition
- Lecture: 2 Hour(s) per week x 14 weeks