The Economics of Energy Transition

Offered By: Delft University of Technology via edX

Course Description

Overview

With the energy transition on the top of the agenda within the energy sector, an efficient and sustainable energy system reliably serving customers is needed more than ever. This program aims to help strategic decision makers, economists, policy advisors and regulators as well as practicing and future engineers to obtain a deeper understanding of energy markets . You will learn how modern energy markets operate, the latest changes they are undergoing and the direction they are aiming towards for the future.

In order to realize how one can encourage change and develop an innovative energy policy, an understanding of the economics of energy systems and its current issues is essential. Therefore, in the first course you will get to grips with the fundamentals of the energy markets and what influences their design and regulation. The economic theory is explained and illustrated using the European electricity markets.

Using real life examples, we will dive into the complex energy system and understand the economic principles that drive it, the differing energy markets that exist, the important role of the electricity networks and how investment in the electricity sector is incentivized. After the first step, it is time to start speculating about the future. How do we transition from the present market to what the European Union has envisioned for 2050?

In the second course you will learn about the economics of different renewable energy sources and other technologies that can aid this transition. You will examine the business cases of renewable energy sources and technologies that can aid energy transition, and government policies currently being used to promote their growth. Find out how the EU intends to decarbonize.

Insightful videos will teach you the driving factors behind European energy markets of both today and tomorrow. Interactive assignments will demonstrate how the merit order is chosen for different types of markets, applying the knowledge to many different scenarios. Live practice sessions will take you through the auctions and marketplaces where trading for electricity, carbon credits and government policy and subsidies for renewable energy takes place today, giving you invaluable knowledge on the inner workings of these markets.

All this content and more will be the building blocks for your conversations and discussions about the future of electricity markets in Europe. After this course, it will be you in the driving seat, impacting the market to steer us away from the fossil fuel-heavy technologies and encourage movement towards sustainable visions of the future.

Syllabus

Courses under this program:
Course 1: Energy Markets of Today

Understand the European energy market and the economic principles behind it.

Course 2: The Transition to the Decarbonised Economy of Tomorrow

Dive into the economic strategies for promoting the energy transition: technologies, policies, pricing, emission trading and more.

Courses

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5 weeks, 4-6 hours a week, 4-6 hours a week
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Energy markets are governed by the laws of economics. Generators and consumers interact to shape the transactions in the energy markets, and thus the energy system. But how does the 'invisible hand' of economics show up in practice? What determines electricity prices and why are they always changing? Why is it so difficult to encourage investment in electricity generation?

This course will help you understand the functioning of energy markets as the necessary first step to promotion of the energy transition. By using the European electricity market as an example, you will obtain a deeper understanding of its principles and effectiveness.

You will investigate four main areas:
- the basics of the energy markets;
- the operation and design of those markets;
- how policy makers can promote investment in electricity generation;
- how the electricity network operates and how network tariffs are determined.
Insightful videos will explain the driving factors behind energy markets. Interactive assessments will demonstrate how the merit order is chosen for different types of markets and how this determines the market price. Live practice sessions will take you through the auctions and marketplaces where electricity trading takes place today, giving you invaluable knowledge on the inner workings of these markets and the effects of network capacity.

Whether you are interested in learning about how the merit order in energy markets works or how the European electricity market is organized; or interested in understanding the economics behind electricity consumption, examining the economic problems of incorporating renewable energy sources into the current system; or simply want to become informed about what makes the energy markets tick -this is the course for you.

This course will address all of these questions and more. Upon completion of the course, you will be able to take on questions, problems or challenges thrown at you about the nature of energy markets and their operation.

This course is the first course in the program: The Economics of the Energy Transition. This program aims to help strategic decision makers, economists, policy advisors and regulators as well as practicing and future engineers to obtain a deeper understanding of the topic. Its aim is to increase your understanding of energy markets, the current European electricity market and to be able to promote the investments necessary for achieving the energy transition.
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5 weeks, 4-6 hours a week, 4-6 hours a week
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How can economic strategies bring our current, fossil fuel based energy system into a carbon neutral future? According to the International Panel on Climate Change, we have only limited time left to keep global temperatures below 1.50 C and to avoid a climate crisis. How do we go about decarbonizing our economy? What are the best renewable energy sources to bring about this transition? And how do we convince investors that renewables really are the best option?

These and more questions will be addressed in this course. Moreover, we will identify the steps the European Union needs to take to reach its goal of a carbon neutral economy by 2050.

In order to understand the energy transition options, we will examine the impact the introduction of carbon free energy production has on the market. Increasingly wind and solar power and other technologies, are integrating into the energy mix at a high level. Looking at real life cases and expert predictions, you will look into these technologies, their integration in current market designs and the economic strategies needed for their implementation.

None of this can be done, of course, without the help of governmental policies. Using real life case studies, you will learn about the business case for renewable energies and how government support schemes, such as subsidies and green certificates, are currently driving the boom in the renewable energy sector. You will also learn about the implementation of carbon markets and carbon pricing and be able to discuss how effective this strategy has been in the European Union.

Finally, we will be looking to the future, examining the visions that have been outlined for 2030, 2050 and beyond. The course will ask you to envision the future of energy supply: how would you shape the carbon free world? There are already many ideas out there, but nothing is certain. You could be the next great mind helping to mold the future into the sustainable and carbon-free world we all want to live in.

This course is the second one in the program: The Economics of the Energy Transition. This program aims to help strategic decision makers, economists, policy advisors and regulators as well as practicing and future engineers to obtain a deeper understanding of the topic. Its aim is to increase your understanding of energy markets, the current European electricity market and to be able to promote the transition to a carbon neutral economy.

Taught by

Laurens de Vries and Rudi Hakvoort