Renewable Energy Engineering

Rationale for the New Curriculum: The world is undergoing a smooth but rapid transition from producing power from fossil fuels – which are quickly depleting and pose serious environmental threats – to more abundantly available Renewable Energy resource, to fulfill its ever growing energy demand. These sources are not only interminable, but are also environment friendly. These sources provide opportunity for promoting distributed power generation to avoid power transmission and distribution losses and other associated complexities. Furthermore, these sources are turning out to be more economical, and in many instances the costs of power generation from these sources is cheaper compared to that from the conventional sources. Therefore, it is the need of the hour to develop competent and knowledgeable human resource to take up the transition challenges and fulfill the emerging market demands for skilled workforce in these areas. Pakistan is blessed with abundant solar, wind, hyrdo and biomass resource, and thus it can easily fulfill its growing energy demands if these sources are properly harnessed. With these objectives in mind, USPCAS-E UET Peshawar would like to commence Master and Ph.D. programs in Renewable Energy Engineering as per the course curriculum below.

Objectives:

The objectives of the Renewable Energy Engineering program is to develop capacity building in a rapidly developing knowledge bank for addressing the ever rising demand for energy through modern renewable technologies. This objective is to be achieved through continuously updating the course curriculum of the program to ensure relevance to the latest market demands and generation of new technologies, as well as encouraging professional growth and development of the students and researchers. The program is designed to satisfy the growing market demand for skilled manpower in the new, clean and economical energy sources.

Students completing a major in Renewable Energy Engineering will acquire a respectable background in the various renewable energy technologies that include wind, solar thermal, solar PV, biomass and micro-hydro sources. They will become aware about the huge potentials that these sources offer to the energy mix of Pakistan, and the important role their large scale dissemination can play in mitigating the current environmental threats. Pakistan is an energy starved country but possess renewable resources that can provide several hundred times more energy than its current demand. Further, the recent decline in energy prices from these sources have brought them to the forefronts of the global energy supply schemes, while they offer energy self-sufficiency to most of the countries.

The following courses are carefully designed to cover the broad spectrum of renewable energy systems that includes detailed study of each of the sources, as well as energy policy, energy systems management, energy systems maintenance, energy audit, energy storage, energy and environment, energy quality, system reliability and energy economics. In addition, courses are included which will provide a comprehensive in-depth insight into the operation and performance of power systems. The course work will be supplemented by well-equipped laboratories and workshop.

Outcomes:

1. Graduates will be able to apply the knowledge and principles of renewable energy engineering and use appropriate technologies for the betterment of the society.
2. Recognize international and national issues related to global warming and environmental degradation, in respect of energy generation and consumption.
3. Solve problems by thinking critically, creatively and reflectively and communicate solutions in an effective manner.
4. Apply the science and engineering principles for solving the energy related issues specific to Pakistan and other developing countries.
5. Select and apply appropriate techniques, resources and modern engineering tools, including prediction and modeling, to design, analyze and experimentally verify the renewable energy systems and their components output.
6. Apply international standards, practices and conventions appropriate to energy policies, like Kyoto protocol and Paris agreements.
7. Understand the impact of renewable energy solutions in societal and environmental contexts and demonstrate knowledge of and need for sustainable development.

Curriculum Map (M.Sc. Program):

Focus Areas

Solar PV, Solar Thermal, Wind, Biomass, Hydro, Geothermal, Renewable Energy Policy, Electrical Systems, Energy Management, Energy Materials, Environmental Impacts, Fuel Cells, Energy Storage

Criteria and Requirements

Eligibility Criteria:

• B.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering
• B.Sc. in Chemical Engineering
• B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering
• B.Sc. in Mechatronics Engineering
• B.Sc. in Material Engineering
• B.Sc. in Agricultural Engineering
• Or any other relevant B.Sc. Engineering degree

Degree Requirement: MS Program would comprise of 32 Credit Hours in both Core and Elective Courses, as well as the thesis, as follows:

List of Courses

12 Core Course credits required by all students enrolled in the Program.

Elective Course Options

14 Credit Hours required. Students to select 5 courses from this list.