Module E: Power Engineering

The role of energy sources exploitation in the civilization and human society development, global overview of energy supply issues, categorization of energy sources and basic energy conversions, conventional sources of energy (coal, oil, gas, water, nuclear energy, wood), for each of sources: origin and basic characteristics, basic physical principles and technologies of its exploitation, world-wide potential, efficiency, basic economic exploitation indices, consumption and supply trends, Slovenian consumption.

Unconventional energy sources (energy of the sun radiation, wind, tide, waste, peat, biomass, nuclear fusion, hydrogen technology, direct thermal conversion to electrical energy, thermoionic conversions, magnetohydrodynamic generator), for each of sources: origin and basic characteristics, basic physical principles and technologies of its exploitation, world-wide potential, efficiency, basic economic exploitation indices, consumption and supply trends, Slovenian consumption.

Dilemmas and technical issues of satisfying all energy needs by applying sustainable energy sources, environmental impacts of energy conversion procedures, economic evaluation of supplying energy needs, glance towards the future. 

The objective of the course on Power Engineering to submit a broad, world-wide overview of energy supply issues, as partial view on the subject is often the main reason for making wrong decisions in the energy supply area. A student gets familiar with basic characteristics, technical possibilities for exploitation and economic indices together with perspectives when using primary energy sources. This goes both for world-wide as well as local perspective. As the student will realize the advantages and limitations of the use of sustainable resources to meet human energy needs, it is supposed to be able to analyze the different concepts of energy supply reported by the media daily and are in general of dubious value.

Lectures, laboratory practice, project work. Part of the pedagogical process will be carried out with the help of ICT technologies and the opportunities they offer.