Safety and Civil Protection Engineering

This course will focus on the clean energy transition and the associated sustainability issues. The students will first familiarize with the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. The course will then deepen the most common sustainable energy sources. The students will learn their working mechanisms as well as the current and potential challenges their massive deployment can cause. - Sustainable Development: introduction and key themes, UN Sustainable Development Goals - Electricity Market: working mechanisms, impact of COVID-19 - Solar photovoltaics: introduction and history, solar cells and materials, the role of photovoltaics towards 2030, degradation, soiling, PV repowering, recycling, floating PV, agriPV, bifacial PV modules, environmental impact - Wind energy: introduction, status, perspectives and challenges, offshore installations, social and environmental impacts - Hydropower: introduction, working principles, status, social and environmental impacts - Geothermal energy: introduction, working principles, status, social and environmental impacts - Bio-energy: introduction, working principles, status, social and environmental impacts - Concentrating solar power: introduction, working principles, status, social and environmental impacts, water withdrawal & consumption, desalination technologies - Ocean energy: introduction, working principles, status, social and environmental impacts - Sustainability: land use, environmental impact

Knowledge of applied physics (radiation, solar spectrum, heat transfer, ...) and electrical engineering (elements of a circuit, direct and alternating currents, ...) is required.

Scientific papers sourced from the literature will be used.

Attendance is not mandatory, but it is strongly recommended.

- 50% of the grade: 30 minute oral presentation ("flipped classroom"), organized by the students on topics chosen from a list provided by the professor. The presentation will last 20 minutes, after which there will be 10 minutes of Q&A. - 50% of the grade: oral exam.

Classes will typically take place in-person. Online lessons will be organized in some occasions (e.g. to host external speakers)