Energy Transition and Sustainability (GEO508)

Energy resources define the maximum energy production capacity that can be provided to any society in different forms. They are divided by type into fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and renewable resources. This course will introduce concepts and fundamental strategies required for an effective management, assessment, and production of energy resources where students will learn the following aspects: 

  • Energy outlook and transition 
  • Energy capacity of conventional fossil fuels such as oil, gas, and coal 
  • Renewable resources and their corresponding energy capacity  
  • CO2 storage and utilization 
  • Energy storage on surface and subsurface  
  • Energy forecasting and modeling 


Course description for study year 2022-2023

Facts

Course code

GEO508

Version

1

Credits (ECTS)

5

Semester tution start

Spring

Number of semesters

1

Exam semester

Spring

Language of instruction

English

Offered by
Time table

View course schedule

Content

Energy resources are a primary need of any society. Nowadays, fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal) are playing a major role as the primary energy provider given their low cost compared to other energy resources and large availability. However, a huge amount of greenhouse gases is released into the atmosphere annually by the combustion of fossil fuels which has been manifested by global warming and climate changes in different scales. To battle this, a low carbon emission target has been set to bring back the level of greenhouse gases to the preindustrial level by 2050. This can be achieved by recognizing the renewable energy resources available to any society and investment on the low carbon emission energy production strategies. The main topics that will be covered in the course are: 
  • energy outlook and transition, including the current energy supply, fossil fuels and greenhouse gas concerns 
  • fundamentals of fossil fuels including reserves, production, and environmental concerns 
  • fundamentals of renewable energy resources, including geothermal, wind, hydro and solar energy, 
  • reducing greenhouse gas emission by geological storage of CO2 where storage site selection, storage capacity and related safety concerns are assessed  
  • fundamentals of energy storage including subsurface hydrogen and gas storage 
  • the energy forecasting and modeling, the role of different types of energy resources towards a low carbon society. 

Learning outcome

Knowledge:  

  • the importance of energy resources to the society, 
  • available energy resources on surface and subsurface, 
  • the energy intensity of fossil fuel in conventional/unconventional reservoirs  
  • renewable energy resources and their energy capacity 
  • the strategy of low carbon energy production 
  • the future of energy supply 

Skills:  

  • quantify and analyze the current and future energy supply, 
  • evaluate the energy resources from hydrocarbon reservoirs, 
  • do a reserve assessment of different energy resources, 
  • analyses and model different renewable energy resources, 
  • apply computer programming to implement energy production strategies 

General Competence:  

  • be comfortable in working in a multidisciplinary environment 
  • be able to analyze the future trend of energy supply from different energy resources, 
  • be able to contribute to low carbon production, 
  • be able to analyze, communicate and report their strategy for energy production

Required prerequisite knowledge

None

Exam

Portfolio and written exam

Form of assessment Weight Duration Marks Aid
Portfolio 45/100 1 Semesters Letter grades All
Written exam 55/100 2 Hours Letter grades None permitted

The course has a continuous assessment. All parts must be passed in order to obtain a final grade in the course. Portfolio evaluation consists of 3 assignments.  The grade of the portfolio is not given until all the reports have been assessed and the portfolio as a whole is graded. Students who fail the written exam may take the re-sit exam the following semester. There is no re-sit opportunities for the portfolio. Students who fail or want to improve their grade must submit a new portfolio the following year.  

Course teacher(s)

Course coordinator:

Raoof Gholami

Study Program Director:

Lisa Jean Watson

Programme coordinator:

Karina Sanni

Head of Department:

Alejandro Escalona Varela

Method of work

The work will consist of 4 hours of lecture and 2 hours of tutorials per week. Students are expected to spend an additional 2-4 hours per week on self-study and assignments.  

The course will include programming in Python and/or Matlab. Students may need to consult other resources for learning programming if they are not already familiar with it. 

Open for

Energy, Reservoir and Earth Sciences - Master of Science Degree Programme

Course assessment

Form and/or discussion.

Literature

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