Course syllabus
Course-PM
SEE030 Variation management in the electricity system VT21 (7,5hp)
Revised December 18th, 2020
Department of Space Earth and Environment
Course purpose
The aim of the course is to provide the student with knowledge of technologies and strategies to manage variations in the electricity system, with focus on variations in the time-span of hours to seasons. The course includes aspects of variation management on detailed technology and process level as well as a system level understanding of the role of different variation management strategies in electricity systems with large shares of wind and solar power.
Schedule
Contact details
Teacher/Examiner: Lisa Göransson (LG), Energy Technology, Chalmers
(tel: 031-772 1452, lisa.goransson@chalmers.se)
Course assistants: Alla Toktarova (AT), Energy Technology, Chalmers
Jonathan Ullmark (JU), Energy Technology, Chalmers
(jonathan.ullmark@chalmers.se)
Henrik Hodel (HH), Student, Chalmers
Guest Lecturers: Patrik Johansson (PJ), Condensed Matter Physics, Chalmers
Björn Wickman (BW), Chemical Physics, Chalmers
Viktor Johansson (VJ), Energy Technology, Chalmers
Course literature
The literature consists of a combination of book chapters and articles. Files and links are included in respective module. Literature under each module should be regarded as core course material unless marked as extended reading.
Course design
The course is given in flipped class room design, where traditional lectures are replaced by short videos and reading material together with a learning activity. Before the learning activity, the student watch the video material, read the literature and answer the content question. During the learning activity, a question similar to the content question is answered in groups. The course also include 5 mini-projects. In the mini-projects the students apply knowledge gained in learning activities to large, open-end questions in small groups. Solutions are presented on mandatory presentation and workshop sessions. One mini-project per student is to be submitted as a written report. A digital exam is given at the end of the course with focus on basic concepts and technical processes. For higher grades, a take-home exam, similar to the mini-projects, is given at the end of the course and followed up by oral examination.
Videos and literature -the videos and literature introduce students to new knowledge based on recent research in the field. The content focus on the technical properties and cost structure of the different variation management strategies and how these decide the impact the strategies will have on the electricity system.
Content question - after watching the videos and reading the literature the students answer the content question. The question typically concern how properties of the considered variation management strategy impact its ability to manage variations. The content question should be answered before the learning activity and prepares the student for the group discussion in the learning activity.
Learning activity -the during learning activity students deepen and anchor their knowledge of the content by discussing the content question in groups and completing a template with their answers. The answers are also discussed in full class.
Mini projects -the mini-projects are designed to practice applying knowledge gained from videos, literature and learning activities in this course and previous courses to open problem formulations. There are no “cook-book” examples and results will vary depending on assumptions made. The purpose of this work is to reach a state of learning where knowledge can be deployed freely to the task at hand (accommodative learning in pedagogical literature). The process of reaching this level of learning is known to be frustrating but also rewarding since the knowledge acquired in this way is very accessible when needed to solve “real” problems at later stages in the career (master thesis, work etc.). Results of the work on the mini-projects is presented in small groups where we compare our findings and discuss different methods and assumptions. The discussion is intended to support the understanding of how methods and assumptions drive results and give feedback on problem solving strategies. More information on the mini-projects is found in Instructions to project sessions.pdf . Each mini-project is carried out in groups of 3. Results are presented and discussed in workshops of 12 students. The workshop sessions are compulsory.
Project report -each student write an individual project report on one of the mini-projects. The project report is evaluated and a pass is required to pass the course.
Digital exam -takes place the 10th of March at 11-11:45. It address basic concepts taught in the course up until the exam. The digital exam is composed by a unique set of questions randomly selected for each student. A pass on the digital exam is required to pass the course. Pass is the highest grade given.
Take-home exam -is made available on canvas on the 10th of March and is due the 18th of March. Similar to the mini-projects, the take-home exam requires that students to apply their knowledge to a problem, design an own solution method and make assumptions and reflect on their impact on the result. The take-home exam corresponds to around two full days of work and is required to achieve higher grades.
Oral exam -students in between two grades or with very similar solutions on the take home exam will be called to oral examination.
Examination form
The examination is based on the written digital exam (pass/fail), active participation in the mini-project workshops (pass/fail) and one written mini-project report (pass/fail). Higher grades are awarded based on a written take-home exam followed up by oral examination. Passed mid-term exam and mini-projects are valid for one year.
Learning objectives
- Describe how variability impact the electricity system composition
- Explain how variations in load has formed the present electricity system
- Reflect on how variations in wind and solar power could influence the composition of the future electricity system
- Describe how the design of wind and solar power installations impact the variations in the electricity system in terms of technology choices, geographical distribution of power production and possibilities for power transfer.
- Apply classifications to explain similarities and differences between variation management strategies.
- Put forward the underlying technical processes behind variation management strategies.
- Discuss how the underlying technical processes impact the properties of the variation management strategies.
- Reflect on which actors are involved in different variation management strategies
- Evaluate different investment alternatives
- Discuss the benefits of different strategies from different actor perspectives
- Discuss the effects of up-scaling of variation management strategies on the environment and on resource availability.
- Discuss how the choice of variation management strategy depends on the electricity system context.
- Describe how variation management strategies impact the electricity system, in terms of marginal cost of electricity, full load hours of different generation technologies and investments in new power production.
- Reflect on how variation management strategies interact with each other.
Course summary:
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