Renewable energy technologies produce many measurable benefits, such as a clear reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. However, it is also apparent that these methods of energy production come with costs. Examining renewable energy developments within an economic context, this course provides a comprehensive view of the present and future dimensions of renewable energy use from a technoeconomic perspective. Through this prism, a detailed methodology for economic evaluation of both single renewable resource systems and hybrid RES will be analyzed to the students following this course. In more detail the following issues will be addressed:
Estimation of fixed capital costs
Estimation of total production costs
Evaluation of investment projects
Detailed analysis of a biodiesel plant design
Detailed analysis of a combined bioethanol/biohydrogen plant design
Case studies of hybrid RES
Life Cycle Assessment is a science-based tool used to perform the environmental assessment of a product, a service or a process, from raw materials through end of life, while Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a procedure to evaluate potential positive and negative environmental impacts of a planned project. LCA aims to assess the effects of the use of energy and raw materials, including waste disposal, while at the same time proposes applicable and practical environmental improvements based on the rational use of raw materials and energy. Calculation of greenhouse gas emissions (or a carbon footprint) is just one dimension of an LCA, which can also assess impacts in many other categories such as ozone depletion, eutrophication, impact on human health and much more. The results obtained from an LCA can be trusted as they are based on International Standards (ISO 14040 and ISO 14044). By performing LCA, you can evaluate options to select the lowest impact choice, comparing the environmental impacts among processes and their alternatives in order to choose which one has the lowest impact, identifying environmental hotspots and taking action to reduce them. Through the course the student will deepen into the concept of LCA, will learn the steps of the methodology, which must be applied, concerning the Goal and Scope definition, the Data collection, the Mass and Energy balances, the Inventory, the Impact Assessment and their Interpretation. Afterwards, the student will learn how the results can be converted into Diagrams. The students also explore the Structure and Contents of Environmental Impact Studies (EIS) and lastly, will have the opportunity to examine LCA and EIS Case studies of several Renewable Energy Plants.