ENVS 5100-003 TPCS: Energy Policy

Field Course in the Energy Industry

 

 

This two-credit course is intended to give students the opportunity to learn first-hand what’s involved in converting, managing, and transporting energy. We’ll tour coal, oil, electricity, wind, and other energy facilities throughout Colorado. The course is limited to graduate students doing energy-related research.

 

The class will generally meet once per week, in addition to biweekly field trips. Classroom sessions will be led by students, and will prepare students for upcoming tours and also discuss past tours. There will also be background readings and a final exam.

 

One of the tours will require an all-day trip to Western Colorado. Others will require half-days. We’ll work to schedule trips so they meet students’ schedules, however students will need to show flexibility in scheduling.

 

Likely site visits include:

1)    Xcel’s Georgetown pumped hydro storage facility

2)    An underground coal mine in central Colorado

3)    An operating oil refinery

4)    Xcel’s Ponnequin wind farm

5)    The Electric Power Training Center (EPTC)

6)    Xcel’s Valmont Station coal-fired generation plant

7)    Georgetown hydroelectric generation museum

8)    Xcel’s Fort Saint Vrain natural gas generation plant

 

 

How this class works:

For the class session prior to a field trip, a team of two students will give a ~30 minute presentation on the fuel, technology, and specifics of the facility. For example, for the Valmont power plant, two students will present on the role of coal in U.S. electricity production, how coal-burning power plants work, and on the Valmont plant itself. The intent of the pre-trip presentation is to help students make sense of the facility when they see it.

 

For the class session immediately after the field trip, the same two students will lead a ~30 minute discussion of the field trip. The discussion should cover larger environmental and policy issues.

 

For both the pre-trip presentation and the post-trip discussion, students should find and assign relevant readings.

 

We’ll assign presentation and discussion topics in the first class.

 

Class meets every Tuesday at 5 pm in HUMN 145. Class will usually last 50 minutes, however there may be occasional classes that will take longer.

 

There will be a final exam.

 

 

Grading:

Grades are determined by the following factors:

 

Factor	% of Grade
Attendance*	30
Final Exam	25
Presentation	15
Led discussion	15
Class participation	15

 

*Students are allowed two absences. After that, grades are marked down 1/3 letter (from A- to B+, for example) for each absence.

 

 

Instructors

Paul Komor (Komor@colorado.edu) will be the official class instructor. Renaud des Rosiers (renaud@colorado.edu) and Jane Pater (jane.pater@colorado.edu) are student organizers of the course.

 

 

Schedule

Here’s the tentative schedule, as of 21August 2005. This will almost certainly change. We’ll use email to keep everyone current.

 

                                                            Tentative presentation/            

Topic/site                                             site visit dates                            

 

Coal power plant                                 Aug. 30, Sept. 6                                 

                                                            Sept. 2: Cherokee coal plant (half day)

                                                                       

Coal mine                                            Sept. 6, Sept. 13         

                                                            Sept. 9: Oxbow coal mine (full day)

 

Dispatch / Utility operations                Sept. 20, Sept. 27       

                                                            Sept. 23 Electric Power (half day)

                                                            Training Center   

 

Utility-scale wind                                Oct. 4, Oct. 11

                                                            Oct. 7: Ponnequin Wind Farm (full day)

 

Pumped hydropower                           Oct. 18, Oct. 25          

                                                            Oct. 21: Georgetown facility (half day)

 

Oil refining                                          Nov. 1, Nov. 8           

                                                            Nov 4: Sunoco Oil refinery (half day)

 

Natural gas power plant                      Nov. 15, Nov. 29       

                                                            Nov. 18: Ft. St. Vrain facility (half day)

                                                                       

 

PK

October 23, 2005