Electricity and the Environment

Explore the mate­r­i­al rela­tion­ship between elec­tric­i­ty gen­er­a­tion and the nat­ur­al envi­ron­ment. Learn about the role of car­bon diox­ide in rela­tion to the green­house effect and the impacts of dif­fer­ent elec­tric­i­ty gen­er­a­tion forms on emis­sions. Dis­cuss top­ics such as albe­do effect and ener­gy reflec­tion, cli­mate change feed­back loops, cli­mate pol­i­cy frame­works, Canada¿s per­for­mance rel­a­tive to Paris tar­gets, and future trajectories.
Course at a glance
  • Fully online asynchronous course, accessible through eClass, the University of Alberta’s eLearning management tool.
  • Aimed at industry executives, environmental professionals, project managers, power producers and regulators, those working in government agencies, utility companies and energy agencies, as well as developers and investors interested in expanding their career or business with renewable energy.
  • Credentialed by the Foundational Technologies Institute (FTI), an independent organization, to meet standards of quality, practicality, and alignment to business needs.
What you will learn

By the end of this course, you should be able to:

  • Describe the relationship between CO2 and temperature through the greenhouse effect.
  • Define the albedo effect and outline its role in energy reflection.
  • Outline the environmental impacts associated with different electricity generation technologies.
  • Describe different policy tools used for Greenhouse Gas mitigation (including price-based instruments, command and control regulations, and technology support policies).
  • Describe the principal characteristics of all major forms of energy storage.
  • Outline the strengths and challenges of battery, thermal, compressed hydro, and compressed air energy storage systems.
  • Outline the energy storage potential of Alberta.
  • Describe some of the limitations and challenges to utility-scale energy storage.
This course has no prerequisites

Students from all educational backgrounds welcome. You can register for this course without applying and enrolling in a program.

Take note:

  • Assessment activities include assignments and quizzes.
Currently counts towards:

Applicants intending to enrol in a program are encouraged to apply as soon as possible to lock in their course requirements since they are prone to change.

*If you are already enroled in this program, please refer to your specific program requirements as outlined at the time of your admission: Bear Tracks > Academic Advisement.

Email

renewtec@ualberta.ca

When will
this course be offered?

New course schedules are released each June and November.

Course not yet scheduled

This course is not currently scheduled, but may be offered in an upcoming term.

New course schedules are announced each June and November.

Sign up for updates

Interested in future offerings of this course? We can let you know when this course becomes available.