Wind and Marine Energy module (RE42002)

Wind and Marine also encompass hydroelectric schemes and put renewable energy into the broader energy context. 

The initial weeks are spent exploring the imperatives for low-carbon sustainable energy, with examples from global to local levels, including off-grid systems. 

At the heart of the module is wind energy. Here you will learn about turbine types and application areas. Some time will be spent analysing laboratory data from wind tunnel experiments and using statistical analyses (modelling) to predict wind turbine outputs under different weather regimes. 

The UK has the largest research and development of any country in marine energy technologies and is a global leader in tidal systems. In this module, you will learn about the various technologies in the marine sector and examine the commercial prospects in this sector. 

Wind and Marine Energy is a key module for engineers to have an overview of the renewables industry. 

Module aims: 

• To provide knowledge about the wide area of technology and the energy sector appropriate for persons working in the wind, marine or hydro-related fields or related areas such as generation or distribution. 
• To learn and apply appropriate skills, techniques and mathematical methods to analyse wind resource data to produce sensible power yield statistics. 
• To acquire sufficient knowledge and understanding of engineering components to select appropriate wind turbine models and balance of plant components to maximise the wind energy harnessed. 
• To provide an understanding of the underlying science, engineering principles and knowledge of various technologies developed and proposed for harnessing offshore wind and marine energy. 

Topics include: 

• Imperatives for renewable energy 

• The National Grid 

• Wind energy: technologies, scaling, modelling, and analysis 

• Hydro systems: dam schemes, pumped storage, and run of river types 

• Tidal energy: barrage and tidal stream technologies 

• Wave energy: technology types and prospects.