The course aims at providing knowledge, applying knowledge, understanding and making judgements of solar and biomass energy for power production. Starting from the characterization of solar and biomass as primary energy sources, the conversion principle with the corresponding limits will be discussed setting the base for the selection and design of the most proper conversion system according to the selected application/environmental condition. The course will provide the basis of three commercial tools typically used in the field of solar energy. Flipped classroom will be adopted when dealing with some topics.

A student passing the exam will have knowledge and understanding of

• the principles of solar and biomass conversion systems and the actual sytem performance/costs;
• the solar/biomass conversion system performance at design and off-design conditions;
• the criteria to design a solar/biomass conversion systems to maximize the energy/cost return;

A student passing the exam will have applying knowledge and understanding

• of PV, CSP and biomass conversion system performance and cost through dedicated practical exercises;
• of governing conversion equation describing the solar/biomass conversion process to electricity;
• of solar optical system through SolTrace, a tool developed to assess solar system optical efficiency;
• of Solar PV system design through PVSyst, a tool developed to design PV system both in on-grid and off-grid applications;
  
• of CSP plant design through SolarPilot, a tool developed to assess CSP plant performance and cost.

A student passing the exam will be capable of making judgements

• of the most suitable solar/biomass technology depending on the application and environmental conditions;
  
• of technology development and future trends.

A student passing the exam will be learning skills

• to communicate technology selection and design criteria selected.

Introduction and perspectives. The potential of renewable energy focusing on solar and biomass as primary energy sources.

Energy from biomass. Classification of biomass and future potential. Conversion systems based on thermochemical conversion: pyrolisis, gasification and combustion. Flue gas treatment systems. Anaerobic digestion for biogas production. LCA analysis applied to the cycle of biomass.

Solar energy. Solar radiation: characteristic angles and the solar spectrum. Equations to describe the solar position in the sky vault. Clear Sky models to assess the ideal solar radiation for a given location Instruments for measuring radiation.

Photovoltaic solar energy : the photoelectric effect, processes for silicon production and photovoltaic cell manufacturing, electrical characteristic of the cell and circuit connection, inverter and power conditioning systems. Design criteria for off-grid and grid-connected plants. Thin-film and multi-junction cells, recent technological developments. Concentrating photovoltaic. A project about the design of PV-off grid application will be assigned and performed through a commercial tool.

Concentrating solar power: classification of concentrating systems. Parabolic-trough collectors, parabolic dish systems, Fresnel collectors, central receiver systems. Thermal performance of a collector, selective coatings. Heat transfer fluids and thermal storage tanks. Sizing of a solar power plant. Operating strategy of a plant and estimation of the yearly production. The introdction to two commercial tools for the CSP design will be carried out and activities related to the design of a CSP plant focusing on optical part and component size definition will be proposed.

Application of solar energy to water desalination.

The teaching requires the knowledge of basic subjects as Energy Conversion and Heat and Mass Transfer. 

The evaluation will be based on three works with the same weight (33%) on the final mark:

• a yearly project on a topic selected by the student (PV/CSP/biomass). The project will require the definition of a plant in terms of lay-out, components type and size to assess the cost and energy performance of the system. For the PV or CSP project, commercial tool will be used;
• a practical part where some short practical exercises will be solved by the students;
• a theoretical part where some questions must be answered by the student.

The practical Exam can be carried out at the end of the teaching in the available dates.

The theoretical exam, which can be accessed only after a positive mark of the yearly project (evaluation >6/10) and of the practical part (evaluation >6/10) can be carried out on the available dates during the exam session plus additional dates in spring.

The yearly project will verify the capacity of the student to making judgement of the techonology depending on the considered environmental condition and case study together with the applying knowledge and understanding through the adoption of a commercial tool.

The practical part will verify the capacity of the student of governing the conversion process and the subsequent equations, the capacity to design a solar/biomass system accounting for both perfomance and economic aspects. In addition, the practical part will be used to verify the capacity of the student to communicate technology selection and related design criteria.

The theoretical part will verify the level of knowledge comprehension, applying knowledge and understanding, capacity of judjement and learning skills of the student.