Introduction

Overview of Lesson 9

With this lesson, we continue our survey of energy industries based on energy sources. In this lesson, we will review two renewable energy sources, wind and solar.

What will we learn?

By the end of this lesson, you should be able to...

• quantify current and projected worldwide use of renewable energy;
• use units of measure for power and energy correctly and consistently;
• understand distributed generation and associated concepts, including on- and off-grid and net metering;
• explain commonly used incentive structures for renewable energy, including tax credits, rebates, and performance-based incentives (Renewable Portfolio Standards and Feed-In Tariffs);
• describe wind-energy technology, resources, and issues affecting growth of the industry;
• explain three categories of solar-energy systems: passive, thermal, and electric-generating;
• list components of photovoltaic systems and describe the purpose of each;
• explain features of four types of concentrating solar power systems;
• discuss status of and advances in the use of solar for electricity generation.

What is due for Lesson 9?

The table below provides an overview of the requirements for Lesson 9. For details, please see individual assignments.

Please refer to the Calendar in Canvas for specific time frames and due dates.