Lecture

Renewable Energies: Technologies and Transition

Graph Chat

Chat with Graph Search

Ask any question about EPFL courses, lectures, exercises, research, news, etc. or try the example questions below.

DISCLAIMER: The Graph Chatbot is not programmed to provide explicit or categorical answers to your questions. Rather, it transforms your questions into API requests that are distributed across the various IT services officially administered by EPFL. Its purpose is solely to collect and recommend relevant references to content that you can explore to help you answer your questions.

Description

This lecture covers the fundamentals of renewable energies, including energy conversion technologies, socio-political and geopolitical aspects of the energy transition, and the role of renewables in combating climate change. It also delves into the potential of solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass energies, as well as the challenges and opportunities in energy storage mechanisms such as mechanical, thermal, and chemical storage. The instructor emphasizes the importance of decoupling energy demand and supply, integrating intermittent renewables, and exploring various energy storage solutions to ensure a sustainable and resilient energy future.

Official source

Ontological neighbourhood

Environmental science

Environmental policy: Topics in environmental policy

Related concepts (32)

Energy storage

Energy storage is the capture of energy produced at one time for use at a later time to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production. A device that stores energy is generally called an accumulator or battery. Energy comes in multiple forms including radiation, chemical, gravitational potential, electrical potential, electricity, elevated temperature, latent heat and kinetic. Energy storage involves converting energy from forms that are difficult to store to more conveniently or economically storable forms.

Grid energy storage

Grid energy storage (also called large-scale energy storage) is a collection of methods used for energy storage on a large scale within an electrical power grid. Electrical energy is stored during times when electricity is plentiful and inexpensive (especially from intermittent power sources such as renewable electricity from wind power, tidal power and solar power) or when demand is low, and later returned to the grid when demand is high, and electricity prices tend to be higher.

World energy supply and consumption

World energy supply and consumption refers to the global production and consumption of primary energy. Energy can be consumed in various different forms, as processed fuels or electricity, or for various different purposes, like for transportation or electricity generation. Energy production and consumption are an important part of the economy. This topic includes heat, but not energy from food. This article provides a brief overview of energy supply and consumption, using statistics summarized in tables, of the countries and regions that produce and consume the most energy.

Thermal energy storage

Thermal energy storage (TES) is achieved with widely different technologies. Depending on the specific technology, it allows excess thermal energy to be stored and used hours, days, months later, at scales ranging from the individual process, building, multiuser-building, district, town, or region. Usage examples are the balancing of energy demand between daytime and nighttime, storing summer heat for winter heating, or winter cold for summer air conditioning (Seasonal thermal energy storage).

Primary energy

Primary energy (PE) is the energy found in nature that has not been subjected to any human engineered conversion process. It encompasses energy contained in raw fuels and other forms of energy, including waste, received as input to a system. Primary energy can be non-renewable or renewable. Primary energy is used in energy statistics in the compilation of energy balances, as well as in the field of energetics. In energetics, a primary energy source (PES) refers to the energy forms required by the energy sector to generate the supply of energy carriers used by human society.

Related lectures (64)

Global Energy Challenges: Transitioning from Fossil Fuels

Discusses global energy challenges and the transition from fossil fuels to sustainable energy sources.

Decarbonization: Energy Transition & Sustainability

Delves into the feasibility of decarbonizing the electricity sector by 2050 using renewable energies, emphasizing economic competitiveness and sustainability.

Heat Strategy for Building Heating

Covers strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve energy efficiency in building heating.

Resilience: Energy Systems

Explores resilience in energy systems, addressing challenges and solutions for ensuring a sustainable energy supply.

Analytical Electron Microscopy: Spectroscopy and Microanalysis