Course description
Course Summary
There exists a rising demand for a specifically designed programme due to the increasing global requirement for renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, tidal, as opposed to the limited fossil fuels, such as gas, oil and coal. Renewable energy sources can provide sustainable electrical power, but their introduction has a huge impact upon the engineering involved in the operation, control and design of future electrical power supply systems worldwide. The course aims are to satisfy both the current and the future demand of electricity industries internationally. The course will meet the demand for the research and development of sustainable electrical power and the demand for training and education of existing and future power engineers in the advanced concepts and understanding of sustainable electrical power and energy.
Course Modules
Energy Economics and Power Markets
* Principles, objectives, regulation, computational methods, economic procedures, emissions trading, and operation of electricity markets.
* Restructuring and deregulation in generation, transmission, and distribution.
* Concepts of transmission congestion and demand side management.
Power System Operation and Management
* Business drivers and technical requirements for operational management.
* In-depth knowledge of operational management software.
* Energy balance and intermittency in sustainable electrical power system operation and management.
Power Electronics and FACTS
* Practical understanding of how to design advanced power electronic circuits.
* Modern power electronic integration techniques and state-of-the-art Flexible AC Transmission Systems.
* Capabilities and limitations of different power electronic circuits.
* Integration of power electronic circuits into Flexible AC Transmission Systems.
Power System Analysis and Security
* Capabilities and limitations of modern power systems design.
* Accurate use of power systems modelling and analysis of secure operation.
* Computational techniques for power systems modelling, optimal power flow, mathematical programming, heuristic methods, artificially intelligent methods.
Sustainable Power Generation
* Generation costing of solar, geo-thermal, bio-mass, wind, hydro, tidal, and wave.
* Storage technologies and energy conversion: practical understanding and limitations.
* Embedded renewable generation: technical challenges, opportunities and connection in electrical transmission and distribution grids.
Power System Stability and Control
* How to ensure effective power system stability and control power system operation using computational methods.
* Power system stability problems, static and dynamic, relaying and protection, stability control and protection design, excitation and power system stabilisers.
Project Management
* Formal methods and skills to function effectively at high levels of project management.
* Development of skills to achieve practical business objectives.
Sustainable Electrical Power Workshop
You will gain experience and expertise with industry relevant tools and techniques through hands-on workshop environments. These practical sessions involve individual and group work. Typical assignments include:
* Sustainable generation scheduling.
* Integration of renewable energy sources.
* Computer simulation of active power filters.
* Phase-controlled rectifiers.
* Power network security.
* Sustainable electrical power system stability control.
* Electricity market auctions.
* Sustainable electrical power system investment and planning.
Dissertation
This provides a stimulating and challenging opportunity to apply your knowledge and develop deep understanding in a specialised aspect of your choice. Projects can be university or industry and company sponsored students have the opportunity to develop their company's future enterprise. Industrial projects often lead to the recruitment of the student by the collaborating company.
Course Structure and Introduction Week Timetable (PDF)
Special Features
The Brunel Institute of Power Systems is an internationally leading group specialising in the optimisation and modelling of power systems and in the economics of electricity markets. Our computing capability is considerable including a recently installed grid-enabled cluster of processors consisting of 20 dual processor nodes with dual Gigabit Ethernet interfaces.
Careers
After successful completion of the programme, you are expected to be ideally suited for employment in the global electricity industry in either an operations or research engineering rle. Whilst this is a new course, Brunel University Master's graduates have an enviable record of employment and the Brunel Institute of Power Systems have long-standing links with major employers such as ALSTOM, ABB, National Grid Transco, British Energy, BNFL, GE Energy, EdF Energy.
