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.
Courses generally have little or no prerequisite knowledge required for a given topic, however if students face any doubts, we recommend they contact course professors to clarify.
| Week | Contents | Teaching / learning activities |
|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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- 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.
- 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
Gabriel Cardeñosa, Industrial technical engineer and Postgraduate degree in air Conditioning. Actually, I’m the energy manager at the UAB responsible for the management and elaboration of the policies and actions that determine energy saving and sustainability in the UAB’s infrastructures, buildings and spaces. Professor of the Postgraduate in Bar and Restaurant Design University School of Design and Engineering of Barcelona during three years.
- E-mail: gabriel.cardenosa@uab.cat
- Department of Architecture and Logistics, Office of Sustainability