ECON H4008: Energy
Economics and Policy
Short Title:
Energy Economics and Policy APPROVED
Full Title:
Energy Economics and Policy
Module Code:
ECON H4008
Credits:
5
NFQ Level:
8
Field of Study:
Electricity and energy
Module Delivered in
2 programme(s)
Reviewed By:
JAMES WRIGHT
Module Author:
Pat ODonnell
Module Description:
The objective of this module is to provide the student with a strong appreciation of economic, environmental
and social constraints on the supply of and demand for energy, and of the technological, policy and
economic/market developments that are taking place in Ireland and internationally in respect of those
constraints.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module the learner will be able to:
LO1
describe the current and potential supply of and demand for energy in the economy and society, the available and developing
sources and the importance of sustainability, competitiveness and security of supply.
LO2
analyse Irish and international energy and energy-related environmental policy evolution and direction, and the drivers of
change in these policies.
LO3
describe the organisation and evolution of the electricity supply industry in Ireland, and the development of electricity markets
and trading in Ireland and abroad.
LO4
describe the causes and consequences of climate change and other environmental impacts of energy supply and use, and
the carbon reduction measures in place in Europe and across the world.
LO5
identify and evaluate the current and potential contribution of renewable technologies, the case for accelerating their
development and the potential of distributed energy resources and of corporate strategies and lifestyle changes to reduce
carbon emissions.
Pre-requisite learning
Co-requisite Modules
No Co-requisite modules listed
ECON H4008: Energy
Economics and Policy
Module Content & Assessment
Content (The percentage workload breakdown is inidcative and subject to change)
%
Review of Energy Demand and Supply
Economic importance of energy, energy trends, final energy demand,primary energy demand - Ireland, UK, Europe, international,
uses of energy; sources of energy - oil, gas, coal, renewables, nuclear; trends in electricity generation, transmission and
distribution of electrical energy; sustainability, energy trade, self-sufficiency; energy infrastructure; environmantal concerns.
20.00%
Energy Policy
Irish, UK, European and international energy policy; policy drivers: competitiveness, security, sustainability, resilience; structure of
energy supply; drivers of change: economic conditions, technology advances, environmental issues; energy forecasts; energy
regulation, energy efficiency.
20.00%
Electricity
Infrastructure and organisation of generation, transmission and distribution; liberalisation of markets; de-regulation of retail
markets; market organisation and players; the Single Electricity Market; advantages of interconnection; current and future
interconnections; distributed energy resources; electricity regulation; smart grids.
20.00%
Environmantal Issues
Climate change, overview of the science; greenhouse gas emissions; natural, social and economic consequences of climate
change; sustainable energy, low-carbon technologies; carbon-reduction measures: regulation, taxation, carbon trading; carbon
markets; the Kyoto Protocol, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, US Carbon Markets, other schemes; other environmental
impacts of energy supply.
20.00%
Renewable Energy, Lifestyle and Energy Consumption
Review of sources of renewable energy and renewable technologies; case for renewables; wind, bio, ocean, other; policy
measures - feed-in tariffs etc., Ireland, UK, Europe, elsewhere; Transport, electric vehicles; distributed energy resources;
corporate behaviour and lifestyle changes for a low carbon world.
20.00%
Assessment Breakdown
%
Course Work
50.00%
End of Module Formal Examination
50.00%
Course Work
Assessment
Type
Assessment Description
Outcome
addressed
% of
total
Assessment
Date
Assignment
Investigate and briefly report on the economic importance or relative
importance of a specific source of energy; and/or the economic or social
impact in Ireland / internationally of a lack of sustainability,
competitiveness or security of supply.
1
10.00
n/a
Presentation
Present an analysis of some aspect on energy policy and/or a description
of some aspect of the electricity supply industry and/or electricity trading.
2,3
20.00
n/a
Assignment
Investigate and report briefly on some aspect of the environmental impact
of energy, carbon reduction measures, the case for renewables or the
potential impact of behavioural and lifestyle changes.
4,5
20.00
n/a
End of Module Formal Examination
Assessment Type
Assessment Description
Outcome
addressed
% of
total
Assessment Date
Formal Exam
End-of-Semester Final Examination
1,2,3,4,5
50.00
End-of-Semester
IT Tallaght reserves the right to alter the nature and timings of assessment
ECON H4008: Energy
Economics and Policy
Module Workload
Workload: Full Time
Workload Type
Workload Description
Lecture
No Description
3.00
Every
Week
3.00
Tutorial
No Description
1.00
Every
Week
1.00
Independent Learning Time
No Description
4.00
Every
Week
4.00
This module has no Part Time workload.
Hours
Frequency
Average
Weekly
Learner
Workload
Total Weekly Learner Workload
8.00
Total Weekly Contact Hours
4.00
Module Resources
Required Book Resources
Tester, J. W. et al 2005, Sustainable energy: Choosing among options., Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA:
Bhattacharyya, S. 2011, Energy Economics: Concepts, Issues, Markets and Governance, Springer [ISBN: 978-0-85279-267-4]
Bern, Gianna 2011, Investing in Energy: A Primer on the Economics of the Energy Industry, Wiley [ISBN: 978-1-57660-375-8]
Barrie Murray 2009, Power markets and economics, John Wiley & Sons Chichester, West Sussex, U.K. [ISBN: 978-0-470-77966-8]
Hunt, Lester; Evans, Joanne 2009, International Handbook on the Economics of Energy, Edward Elgar Publishing [ISBN: 978-184720-352-6]
Bent Sorensen 2011, Renewable Energy, Fourth Edition, Academic Press (Elsevier) [ISBN: 978-0-12-375025-9]
Jim Skea (Editor), Paul Ekins (Editor), Mark Winskel (Editor) 2011, Energy 2050, earthscan [ISBN: 978-1-84971-084-8]
Arnaud Brohé, Nick Eyre, Nicholas Howarth 2009, Carbon Markets: An International Business Guide, earthscan [ISBN: 978-184407-727-4]
Required Article/Paper Resources
n/a, http://pdf.wri.org/world_resources_2008_roots_of_resilience.pdf .
2005 Cost-Effectiveness of Renewable Electricity Policies, Energy Economics, 27, 873-894
2009 Promoting investment in low-carbon energy technologies, European Review of Energy Markets, volume 3, issue 2, June
2009
McDonlad, S., S. Robinson, and K. Thierfelder 2006, "Impact of Switching Production to Bioenergy Crops: The Switchgrass
Example.", Energy Economics, 28 (2006):, 243-265
Economic and Social Research Institute 2011, A Review of Irish Energy Policy, Research Series, Number 21, April 2011, 52
www.esri.ie
This module does not have any other resources
Module Delivered in
Programme Code
Programme
Semester
Delivery
TA_EAEEE_B
Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Energy Systems Engineering
8
Mandatory
TA_ENEEE_B
Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Energy Systems Engineering
8
Mandatory