39-613 Energy Transport and Storage

Professor Katrina Kelly-Pitou
Office offsite. Please e-mail or call

Overview
The logistics and cost of moving and storing energy vary greatly by energy form and geographic region. This mini begins with a global look at resources and the sources, movements, processing and storage of fossil and nuclear fuels. Once fuels have been delivered and converted to heat or electricity, the issues of moving and storage re-emerge. Efficient use of renewable electric power resources is considered, with emphasis on distributed resources and managing variability and intermittency. The technical and economic aspects of electric power transmission, distribution and storage are also evaluated. Management, regulation and operation of the grid are evaluated, including various SmartGrid and MicroGrid initiatives and technologies in the US and worldwide.

Students will work in project teams to research and evaluate regional energy transport & storage infrastructure & status for an assigned region. Student will make projections of future regional T&S needs, challenges and shortfalls (~25 years). Finally, students will evaluate options (qualitatively and quantitatively) and recommend optimal new and modified energy transport & storage infrastructure and practices needed for the assigned region.

Class Lectures / Discussion topics:
 Motivation and Overview
 Centralized vs. Distributed Energy Systems (Homer)
 Fundamentals of Mass, Heat, and Electrical Transport of Energy Carriers
 Overview of Energy Storage Technologies
 Transport & Storage of Coal, Natural Gas, and Petroleum Energy Sources
 Transport & Storage of Nuclear and H2 Energy Sources 
 Optimization in Energy Systems I & II
 Emerging Topics in Energy Systems
 Energy systems in developing countries
and sometimes
 Electric Power System Basics: Centralized Power System Transmission and Distribution
 Distribution Systems, Distributed Energy Resources Including Storage, and Microgrids
 Emerging Topics in “Smart Grid Technologies”
 Microgrids & Distributed Resources Use Cases 
 Overview of Electricity Markets: Current and Future Issues
 Electrochemical Energy Storage: Fundamentals and Applications