The Global Energy Problem: The Scientific Basis of Energy Management
The objective of the course is twofold. First, it should provide the students the scientific basis necessary for understanding energy management, both at global and local scales. For this, we will provide the numbers to clarify what are the energetic resources available worldwide, how we consume it today, and what are the pros, cons and limitations of each form of energy production, both for traditional and renewable sources.
Second, we will try to infer what, according to such scientific basis, would be the criteria that should drive energy management and the energy transition at a global scale, and will discuss in which ways the current geopolitical and economic scenarios facilitate and/or resist that process.
The course intends to be quite interactive and not merely based on traditional educational methodologies. In particular, most of the topics studied during the course would be first introduced to the students through visits to several facilities in the UAB Campus (solar cells, biomass boilers, refrigeration and other efficiency systems...) and/or through simple experimental activities. Also, the last week of the course will be based on a role-playing activity in which the students will adopt the role of the energy manager of a country and will simulate collectively the dynamics of an energy market in order to experience for themselves the corresponding difficulties and details involved.
Important Notice on Course Suitability and Activities:
Some Summer School courses are designed for students with prior academic background in a specific discipline and may be unsuitable for participants without that preparation.
In addition, certain courses include discipline-standard practical activities (for example, laboratory work with biological specimens, dissections, use of clinical or forensic material, field sampling, or other hands-on procedures) that may be unfamiliar or unsettling for some participants.
Students are responsible for reading the course descriptor carefully and ensuring (i) that they meet any stated academic expectations or prerequisites, and (ii) that they are comfortable participating in the methods and activities described.
If you are unsure about suitability, please contact the course lecturer(s) before enrolling.
| Week | Contents | Teaching / learning activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
- Daily sessions of three hours according to the following scheme: 1st hour: Visit to UAB facilities or experimental activities at the Campus 2nd - 3rd hour: Lectures and exercises in the classroom |
| 2 |
|
- Daily sessions of three hours according to the following scheme: 1st hour: Visit to UAB facilities or experimental activities at the Campus 2nd - 3rd hour: Lectures and exercises in the classroom |
| 3 |
|
- Daily sessions of three hours according to the following scheme: 1st hour: Discussion of the case studies 2nd - 3rd hour: Gamified activity based on a collective energy market simulation |
Exam (50%): There will be an exam at the end of the second week to evaluate the theoretical concepts seen previously.
Report of the activity (50%): The gamified activity carried out during the last week of the course will be part of the evaluation. The students will carry out a written report providing an assessment of their performance and their follow-up of the activity.
Academic integrity notice: any form of plagiarism in work submitted for this course will be treated as a serious academic offence and may result in an automatic fail grade.
- D. MacKay. Sustainable energy – without the hot air. Online book available for free.
- R.L. Jaffe and W. Taylor. The Physics of Energy. Cambridge University Press, 2018.
- B. Cassoret. Energy transition. CRC Press, 2021.
- C. Breyer et al. On the History and Future of 100% Renewable Energy Systems Research. IEEE Access 10, 78176 (2022).
- Official website of the Gorona del Viento project.
Daniel Campos Moreno received his Ph.D. in Physics at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in 2005. After some time as an environmental consultant and holding a posdoc position (financed through a Beatriu de Pinos grant) at the University of Manchester, he got a position as a lecturer at the Universitat Autonoma in 2008 that became a permanent position in 2017. In this institution he has been involved in several tasks of research, teaching and management including the coordination of the Environmental Sciences degree and the vice dean for Academic Affairs of the Faculty of Sciences during the term 2019-2022. His research is focused on the implementation of statistical and/or stochastic models for problems in biology and ecology.
- E-mail: daniel.campos@uab.cat
- Department of Physics, Condensed Matter Physics Area
F. Xavier Alvarez Calafell received his PhD at the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in 2007. He has leaded several research projects in this field and has published more than 60 peer-reviewed works. He also has a long experience in teaching and divulgation activities related to the energy transition and energy management. He has appeared several times in the medio (TV3, Sport among others) as an expert in the divulgation of physical phenomena. He is also a cofounder of the project “From Euro to Joule” (https://eur2j.cat/).
- E-mail: xavier.alvarez@uab.cat
- Department of Physics