EME 801 Syllabus

EME 801 Syllabus, Spring 2024

It is essential that you read the entire syllabus as well as the material covered in the course Orientation. Together these serve as our course "contract."

Instructor

Mark Kleinginna
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences, The Pennsylvania State University

• Email: If you need to contact me about anything related to the course, please use Canvas Conversations - the “Inbox” link () in Canvas.
• Office Hours: By appointment (please contact me via Canvas to request an appointment).

Course Overview

Description

EME801 provides an overview of the basics of energy project decision-making, project finance, energy risk management and how to think about the impacts of commodity market dynamics on these decisions. The course also provides a broad introduction to global markets for crude oil and refined petroleum products; natural gas; and electric power. A major goal of the course is to help students understand how market design, market institutions and regulatory structures affect firm-level decision-making in the energy industries, and ultimately how these decisions affect the functioning of energy markets and the prospects for alternative technologies. It is hoped that this course provides a financial background for students to think about how energy markets for both renewables and other forms of energy will affect the current and coming transitions. EME 801 serves as part of the core set of courses for the M.P.S. program in Renewable Energy and Sustainable Systems (RESS) offered through the Penn State World Campus.

Prerequisites

No background in economic analysis is assumed, but we will do a lot of complex quantitative thinking, analysis, and calculations. EME 801 is a highly quantitative course, so be prepared for a lot of math and a lot of calculations. The analytical expectations for this course are:

• Knowledge of high school level algebra: we will perform a lot of calculations that require basic arithmetic skills (such as raising numbers to exponents). The use of algebra (solving equations for a single unknown variable or two unknown variables) will also be extensive in this course, especially once we get to financial modeling.
• From time to time, we will also make use of basic concepts from probability and statistics.
• I expect students to be comfortable, if not proficient, with the use of spreadsheet software (like Microsoft Excel) for making complex calculations, working with large data sets, and for graphing. Penn State students have free access to Office 365 products, including Excel. See this World Campus Student Center page for more information. You may also use the Spreadsheet application available through Google Drive or a similar online tool.

Prior to accessing the first lesson, all students must pass the course orientation quiz.

As a Penn State student, you also have access to a number of training modules on LinkedIn Learning, and there are many that cover the basic functions of Excel. EME 801 is not a good course to learn the ropes in working with Excel or other spreadsheet tools. Throughout the course, you will be asked to manipulate large data sets in Excel, perform complex calculations and generate professional-looking graphics using Excel. If you are new to Excel, you should expect to spend a lot of time during the first few weeks learning how to use and manipulate spreadsheets.

Course Objectives: 

When you successfully complete this course, you will be prepared to:

• communicate some facts about global energy industries and energy policy;
• use a set of standard quantitative tools used in decision-making in the energy industries;
• explain how emerging regulations may change industry decision-making;
• describe how modern markets for energy commodities are structured;
• describe how existing and emerging environmental concerns and policies will impact these markets;
• evaluate the profitability of new projects or technologies in the context of these markets and regulations;
• develop basic financial statements for energy projects.

What I Expect of You

On average, most students spend eight to ten hours per week working on course assignments. Your workload may be more or less depending on your study habits. This is a very fast-paced course that covers a great deal of ground in fifteen weeks. Please come into the class prepared to focus on the material and ready to engage with the course each and every week.

I have worked hard to make this the most effective and convenient educational experience possible. The Internet may still be a novel learning environment for you, but in one sense it is no different than a traditional college class: how much and how well you learn is ultimately up to you. You will succeed if you are diligent about keeping up with the class schedule and if you take advantage of opportunities to communicate with me, as well as with your fellow students.

Specific learning objectives for each lesson and project are detailed within each lesson. The class schedule is published as part of the Syllabus in Canvas (the course management system used for this course) and can also be accessed using the Calendar link () in Canvas.

Required Course Materials

Other than access to readings supplied in the course lessons, there are no other required materials for this course. The course lessons will often contain links to public-domain materials that can supplement the course content. If you must know more, I highly recommend the following books:

• The Global Oil and Gas Business by Sam van Vactor (2010, PennWell books, ISBN 9787593702144)
• Electric Choices: Deregulation and the Future of Electric Power, edited by Andrew Kleit (2006, Rowan and Littlefield, ISBN 9780742548763)

In addition, there are some online resources that provide some generally useful explanation or analysis of energy market issues.

• Today in Energy, a daily online publication of the US Energy Information Administration. These are short articles, usually supplemented with nice data or graphics, about an energy issue of current interest. Historical articles are archived here, or you can always find the latest article on the EIA home page.
• Two sections of the New York Times have a lot of well-written pieces on energy, the environment and climate change. One is the Energy and Environment page under the Business Section. The other is the Climate and Environment Section. If you are interested in energy and the environment, these are worth a regular read but they won't always be directly relevant to the course.
• Utility Dive is a great online news resource for topics on electricity. They have a daily news service that delivers stories to your email inbox.
• Canary Media is a media company that covers the clean energy transition. 
• RBN Energy has a daily blog post on energy markets (mainly oil and gas but also on renewable power generation, hydrogen and biofuels). It is very well written, and you can sign up to get these delivered to your email inbox every morning.
• Several podcasts on energy issues that are quite good. Among the most interesting (in my view) are The Energy Gang and Currents.

Assistance 

Penn State honors and values the socioeconomic diversity of our students. If you require assistance with the costs of textbooks for this course, please contact your academic advisor. For additional needs, related to socioeconomic status, please visit Project Cahir or visit the Office of Student Care and Advocacy at 220 Boucke Building or call 814-863-2020.

Assignments and Grading

You will be asked to complete a variety of assessment exercises during the semester. Your semester grade will be determined by a 1000-point weighting scheme. Deliverables include the following:

• Discussions (150 points) (via Zoom), where we will discuss topics covered in the week's lesson and associated readings. You will participate in a survey that determines the times/dates for our Zoom calls. You are required to attend at least three of these Zoom calls (but you're welcome to come to all of them!). An alternate assignment, based on a recording of the call, will be provided for those who cannot attend the live calls.
• Quizzes (100 points), where you will show your understanding of lesson and course concepts
• A final exam (50 points), where you will demonstrate mastery of course concepts
• A semester-long project (700 points), which is described in Lesson 2. See also the schedule table in this syllabus.

I do not incorporate extra credit in my courses - your grade is determined by performance on regular assignments and nothing else.

Please see the Course Schedule, below, for more information

Even though the course is online, and you can complete each lesson at your own pace within the week, you should plan your work/school/life balance appropriately so that you can complete each lesson's activities. As you are working on the assignments, you are encouraged to share ideas and questions you may have in the "Questions about EME 801?" Discussion Forum located in Canvas. 

Due dates for all assignments are posted on the course calendar in Canvas. Assignments are due by 11:59 pm Eastern Time on the due date.

I will use the Canvas Gradebook to keep track of your grades. You can see your grades in the grade book, too, by clicking the Grades link in the Canvas menu. Overall course grades will be determined as follows. Note that I will follow this rubric strictly. I will not round up in case you wind up with a grade that is on the boundary. For example, if you end the semester with 869 points, you get a B+. I will not round grades up and will not respond to requests for extra credit.

EME 801 Course Schedule

Printable Schedule

Below, you will find a summary of the primary learning activities for this course and the associated time frames. This course is fifteen weeks in length. See our Calendar in Canvas for specific lesson time frames and assignment due dates.

Course Assignments 

Lesson	Deadline	Assignment Type	Description	Pts.
Orient. Week 1	See Canvas for Dates	Discussion Quiz	Introductions to classmates Complete Quiz 1 (Zoom call preference/availability)	0 10
2	See Canvas for Dates	Discussion Quiz	Zoom call Quiz 2	50 10
3	See Canvas for Dates	Project work	Project Charter/Stakeholder Register	75
4	See Canvas for Dates	Discussion Quiz  Project work	Zoom call Quiz 3 Revenue Time Series Op Expense Time Series	50 10 50 50
5	See Canvas for Dates	Project work	Capital Costs	50
6	See Canvas for Dates	Discussion Quiz	Zoom call Quiz 4	50 10
7	See Canvas for Dates	Quiz Project work	Quiz 5 Risk Management Measures	10 50
8	See Canvas for Dates	Discussion Quiz Project work Project work	Zoom call Quiz 6 Financial Model Financial Metrics	50 10 50 50
Spring Break	---------------------------------------------------SPRING BREAK--------------------------------------------------------
9	See Canvas for Dates	Quiz Project work	Quiz 7 Policy Sensitivities	10 50
10	See Canvas for Dates	Discussion Project work	Zoom call Fuel Market Sensitivities	50 50
11	See Canvas for Dates	Quiz Project work	Quiz 8 Project work week (no deliverables)	10 00
12	See Canvas for Dates	Discussion Quiz Project work	Zoom call Quiz 9 Electricity Market Sensitivities	50 10 50
13	See Canvas for Dates	Quiz Project work	Quiz 10 Project work week (no deliverables)	10 00
14	See Canvas for Dates	Discussion Project work	Optional Zoom call/wrap-up Non-Financial Costs, Benefits	00 75
15	See Canvas for Dates	Exam	Comprehensive Exam due	50
FINALS WEEK	See Canvas for Dates	Project work	Final Report/Presentation of Results	100

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Tips for Success in EME 801

• Participate—Odd as it seems, in many ways, an online environment gives us a great opportunity to get to know one another and exchange ideas, challenges, and interesting thoughts. Please take full advantage of this opportunity; you’ll learn more, enjoy the course more, and probably make a better grade.
• Do the work on time—This course moves quickly! I strongly advise not waiting until the last minute to start the assignments. Give yourself time to ask, think, and interact with me and your classmates.
• Be responsible and honest—I’m glad you’re taking this course and hope it is a rewarding experience for you with long-lasting benefits. Let’s keep it a good thing. Please review our course policy on Academic Integrity described above. Treat yourself, your classmates, and the instructor with honesty and respect at all times. I'll do the same.

Course Policies

Withdrawals and Refunds

Students who officially withdraw from the class may be entitled to a pro-rated refund of tuition. For more information, see Refund Policy under World Campus Student Policies.

Penn State Email Accounts

All official communications from the Penn State World Campus are sent to students' Penn State email accounts. Be sure to check your Penn State account regularly, or forward your Penn State email to your preferred email account, so you don't miss any important information.

Deferred Grades

If you are prevented from completing this course within the prescribed amount of time, it is possible to have the grade deferred with the concurrence of the instructor. To seek a deferred grade, you must submit a written request (by email or U.S. post) to your instructor describing the reason(s) for the request. It is up to your instructor to determine whether or not you will be permitted to receive a deferred grade. If, for any reason, the course work for the deferred grade is not complete by the assigned time, a grade of "F" will be automatically entered on your transcript.

Make-up Exam Policy

Make-up exams will not be allowed. 

Curve

Grades for this class will not be curved.

Late Policy

I do not expect much "late work." In the circumstances which require late submissions, you should contact me. The earlier you contact me to request a late submission, the better. Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis. The nature of the course is fairly punitive if you fail to keep up, so an explicit late policy on grading is not enforced. Course lessons are available to you in advance. It is your responsibility to plan ahead and work ahead if necessary to accommodate your personal schedule. This flexibility is one of the great features of online learning. Take advantage of it!

Netiquette

The term "Netiquette" refers to the etiquette guidelines for electronic communications, such as email and bulletin board postings. Netiquette covers not only rules to maintain civility in discussions, but also special guidelines unique to the electronic nature of forum messages. Please review Virginia Shea's "The Core Rules of Netiquette" for general guidelines that should be followed when communicating in this course.

Equations

This course must be viewed using the latest version of Firefox, Safari, Chrome, or Edge. Internet Explorer is not supported. If you use any other browser, or if you are not using the latest version of your browser, some pages containing equations will not render properly. In addition, javascript must be enabled for equations to render properly. If you have any issues with equations not rendering properly, please update your browser to the latest version or try using a different browser. If you need additional technical assistance at any point during the course, please contact the HelpDesk (for World Campus students) or the IT Service Desk (for students at all other campus locations).