Course Syllabus

BBE 1201: Renewable Energy, Climate Change, Society and the Environment.

Course Description:

There is a growing sense of national and global urgency regarding carbon and climate change with particular emphasis on our energy system. Unfortunately, the answers are not simple. In this course, students explore our wide range of traditional and renewable energy sources and how these options impact our environment and society. Students are also exposed to the complex and compelling ethical issues raised by global, national, and local changes in how we produce and use energy.

This course informs and engages students to be thoughtful, rather than passive consumers of energy. Students gain the knowledge necessary to be articulate in career, community, and personal arenas regarding renewable energy resources. In addition, students develop the ability to evaluate and respond to present and future technological changes that impact their energy use in the workplace, at home, and in the community.

For more information on this course go to bbe1201.cfans.umn.edu.

Liberal Education Component:

“Liberal Education is an approach to learning that empowers individuals and prepares them to deal with complexity, diversity, and change. It provides students with broad knowledge of the wider world  (e.g. science, culture, and society) as well as in-depth study in a specific area of interest” (aacu.org). BBE1201 is focused on our energy system, but energy cannot be discussed in isolation. Energy touches on a wide variety of topics including science and technology, environment, policy, economics, and ethics. You will be required to remember some ‘energy facts’, but primarily we teach you how to think more broadly seeing the connections of our everyday activities to energy and evaluating options for better decision-making. For instance, we will illustrate to you how a wind turbine works, but spend  more time talking about how they fit into the bigger energy picture and why they may or may not be important to society. Learning about energy requires asking questions, discovering connections, weighing options, and finding solutions that meet multiple objectives or result in multiple benefits. This course will provide you ample opportunity to address energy considerations in nearly every lesson.

The world is a complex place with no easy answers for any question or controversy. Methods you will use to think about energy in this course are applicable for dealing with other complex questions facing the world.

Technology and Society Theme:

Our food, water, and energy systems make up the biggest challenges our planet has ever faced. Our  energy system is at the core of these three issues. In addition, because of our reliance on fossil fuels, our energy system is at the forefront of the critical problem of climate change. As a student you will discover these connections and learn how to critically evaluate the options that are available. You will discover that there are no simple solutions or solutions that don’t have some negative consequences. We are facing a real crisis (ie., carbon/climate change) at this time in human history and we can all make an impact or contribution. No matter what your major or path in life you choose, you can play a role in our future energy system.

Student Learning Outcomes:

Having successfully completed this course, students can:

·  Identify and describe present energy use, trends, and impacts.

·  Describe the diverse renewable energy technologies that are available to individuals, businesses, and communities.

·  Understand how differing societal perspectives impact individual and community choices regarding renewable energy technologies.

·  Analyze the potential challenges and opportunities with various renewable energies.

·  Understand the environmental, technical, policy, and economic implications of each of the renewable energy opportunities.

·  Develop the ability to make informed personal, career, and public decisions regarding energy use for today’s world.

Course Format:

This course is completely online and asynchronous, providing students flexibility with their schedules. Each of the 28 lessons are available approximately two weeks before the lesson due date and closed on the date stated in the lesson. (Two week early opening of lessons is not available for the first  6 lessons, we ramp into it.) A short written introduction to each lesson and its topic is provided by the instructor. Students are then provided with a more in-depth analysis of the topic through materials campus faculty but sometimes business leaders), and occasionally, YouTube videos such as Ted Talks. Students further explore the topic through reading assignments and/or additional videos, and can venture deeper into areas of their own interest through suggested optional readings. Each lesson ends with a short quiz (or quizzes) related to the lesson as well as a writing assignment (reflection).

Assignments, content, and delivery methods vary from lesson to lesson depending on the topic. Credit Hours and Time Commitment (3 credits):

Based on University of Minnesota criteria, a 3-credit course requires student effort of  105 hours per semester (7.5 hours/week x 14 weeks). This requirement is fulfilled through 28 online lectures and required readings for each lesson followed by a corresponding quiz and writing assignment (about 2.5 hours per lesson or 5 hours per week). In addition, there is an experiential learning project, a final research paper, and a final exam. These additional items will require an additional 35 hours of your time (an additional 2.5 hours per week). This student engagement requirement is significant but we hope that every minute spent on this course is valuable.

Prerequisites:  None

Course Schedule (28 lessons):

·  Fall/Spring Term: 2 lessons per week with due dates on Monday and Thursday

·  Summer Term: 4 lessons per week with due dates each day Monday through Thursday

Course Instructors:

·  David Schmidt, M.S., P.E. Department of Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering. Phone: 612-

625-4262, Email: schmi071@umn.edu (mailto:schmi071@umn.edu) Instructor Contact Information:

Please email bbe1201@umn.edu (mailto:BBE2201@umn.edu)for any course communication between you and the course instruction team. This email is monitored and responded to regularly throughout the day and evening with typical response times of 2 hours or less during business hours and 12 hours on weekends and evenings.

Office Hours:

There are no official office hours, since communication for this on-line course is largely through email. However, instructors are happy to meet with you if needed. Just contact them via email or phone to set up a date/time to meet.

Required Text and Readings:

All readings, videos, and other instructional materials are provided online via the Canvas website. Software Requirements:

Chrome works best with Canvas. Safari is acceptable also. Do not use Windows Internet Explorer as it generally does not work well for many course features. In addition, you must be able to open the following file formats:  .pptx, .ppts, .docx, .pdf files, .mov, and other video files.

Technology Support:

Canvas Help Desk (bottom left red bar on canvas page) or UMN Canvas Support at (canvas@umn.edu (mailto:canvas@umn.edu))

Course Topics:

Unit 1. Energy Overview: Lesson 1-4

An introduction and overview of energy and the role of both fossil fuels and renewable energy options in society and the environment. Key concepts include:

·  The carbon cycle - where carbon comes from (sources) and where does it go (sinks). The role of carbon in our atmosphere and ecosystem. Trends in atmospheric carbon

·  Life Cycle Assessment – an overview of the accounting system used to determine the relative contributions of carbon emissions from products and services. Several examples are provided with a focus direct and indirect carbon emissions with purchased products, food choices, and  transportation, as viewed in terms of a personal carbon footprint

·  Climate change and weather - exploring the current science of climate change. What is the difference between natural climate cycles and current climate trends?

·  Discussion of terms and units such as kinetic, potential, chemical and electrical energy, BTU, energy density, watts, kilowatts, and kilowatt hours

Unit 2. Fossil Fuels: Lessons 5-11, Policy Lesson 12 and Nuclear Lesson 13

A detailed look at our current fossil fuel based energy system with a review of technologies, trends, policies, and environmental implications for petroleum, natural gas, and coal, including the policy implications and political climate that impacts the development of various energy sources. Key concepts include:

·  Reserves/supply, exploration, extraction, refining, and distribution, environmental impacts, social implications of petroleum, natural gas and coal

·  Environmental impacts with topics such as pipeline vs rail transportation, oil spills, fracking, and CO2

·  Transportation efficiency and conservation including fuel economy, efficiency measures, CAFÉ standards, alternative vehicles, economics implications, etc.

·  Home energy efficiency and conservation concepts including heat loss and insulation in buildings, phantom power, lighting efficiency, appliance efficiencies, and home energy audits. (EISA, Energy Star, etc)

·  Industrial and commercial energy use, conservation, and efficiency covering areas of heating, lighting, compressed air, motors, and manufacturing processes. Discussion includes relevant  policies, programs, and other economic incentives. (Next Generation Energy Act, ISO 50001,  benchmarking)

·  Policy options, market forces and economic drivers that effect energy in the US, with particular attention to the Minnesota Renewable Portfolio Standard, Next Generation Act, EISA, CPP

Unit 3. Biomass to Liquid Fuels: Lessons 14-18

An overview of biomass technologies and their current and future uses in society and a discussion of related policies, environmental concerns, and economic issues. Key concepts include:

·  Challenges of integrating renewable fuels into our current transportation system

·  Concepts of first generation, second generation, advanced biofuels and biomass refineries   

·  Logistics of the biomass to fuel supply chain, net energy balance of these systems, and how

these systems impact land use and the environment

·  Biological and chemical conversion of biomass to ethanol, biodiesel, and other fuels 

·  Progress on algae for fuel along with other designated biomass crops

·  Renewable Fuel Standard and other related policies

Unit 4. Biomass/Waste to Energy: Lessons 19-21

Biomass to energy conversion with a focus on waste products. With each of these technologies we include an overview of the technology, environmental controversies, economics, and policy drivers.

·  Municipal waste-to-energy systems technologies. (WTE facilities)

·  Anaerobic digestion technology to convert organic waste such as farm, food, and wastewater to produce biogas

·  Wood waste and designated woody biomass crops and the conversion to combined heat and power

Unit 5. Renewables: Lessons 22-28

This unit provides an in-depth study of the most popular renewable energy technologies and trends in the industry. With each of these energy sources we include an overview of the technology, economics, environmental implications of their use and expansion and related policies. We wrap up with exploring community-based energy organizations.

·  Hydroelectricity: Hydroelectric dams and wave energy

·  Solar energy including solar thermal, solar photovoltaic, and concentrated solar power 

·  Wind energy from both land and water based systems

·  Nuclear energy: The technology, challenges, and the importance of this low carbon (yet not renewable) energy source in our energy system

·  Deep geothermal for electricity and heating

·  Ground source heat pumps for heating and cooling.

·  Hydrogen as a fuel – a brief description of operations and challenges

·  Energy Justice, Net Zero, and implementing what you learned.