What you will learn
- Design a complete photovoltaic system for any particular application and location.
- Reflect on the role of solar energy in both the energy transition towards a sustainable future and climate change mitigation.
- Understand the physical working principles of photovoltaic energy conversion in solar cells.
- Recognize and describe the various photovoltaic technologies and evaluate their applicability using various metrics related to performance, costs, reliability and circularity of PV.
- Gain knowledge that will empower you to contribute to your local community, including integration of large scale utility and residential solar electricity in the grid for clean and sustainable energy solutions.
- Learn about improving energy access by last mile electrification of rural regions using autonomous photovoltaic-battery systems.
Solar Energy technologies are among the leading renewable energy technologies to help our society to transform our energy systems and meet climate change mitigation goals. If you are new to these technologies and looking for an introduction to solar energy, this is the program for you!
The experts from Delft University of Technology set up this program to help professionals, entrepreneurs and enthusiastic learners to obtain the basic knowledge to take their first steps in the solar energy sector. It will also support local entrepreneurs who wish to improve the access to electricity in their communities and seek the knowledge to deploy a PV system.
In the program Solar Energy, you will learn to design a complete photovoltaic (PV) system for any application and location. This program introduces the technology that converts solar energy into electricity. The role of solar energy in both the energy transition towards a sustainable future and climate change mitigation will be discussed in detail.
The physical principle of the PV energy conversion together with the design rules for a solar cell are introduced. These design rules are applied on the various PV technologies from cell up to module level. We will also highlight various metrics related to performance, costs, reliability and circularity that will be used to evaluate the advantages and limitations of different PV technologies and its applications.
The program’s level is equivalent to a Bachelor’s level course and will provide you with an excellent first step that could prepare you for more advanced programs like the MicroMasters Solar Energy Engineering.
Courses in this program
DelftX's Solar Energy Professional Certificate
- 4–6 hours per week, for 4 weeks
Learn about the leading role of solar energy in rural electrification and climate change mitigation. Introduce yourself to the physical principle of the photovoltaic energy conversion of solar cells.
- 4–6 hours per week, for 4 weeks
The growth in global PV capacity towards 100 Terawatt by 2050 requires a diverse portfolio of PV technologies. Apply the solar design rules to PV technologies and analyze them using metrics related to performance, costs, reliability and circularity.
- 4–6 hours per week, for 4 weeks
Solar photovoltaics (PV) is the cheapest source of electricity in many parts of the world. Learn to both design a complete PV system and to perform technical and economic assessments for PV systems ranging from large solar farms to residential systems
- Solar energy is the technology among all sectors with the potential to result in the largest net reduction in CO2 emissions at the lowest costs by 2030. (IPCC 2022 – Mitigation of climate Change)
- Energy transition models show that capacity of 60-100 TeraWatt of photovoltaic power is installed by 2050 (60 -100 times installed PV power in 2022).
- Estimated annual salary of engineers working in the solar energy industry amounts to $85,000 (USA Department of Labor)
- Solar photovoltaic was the largest renewable energy employer with 4.0 million jobs in 2020 and jobs opportunities keep steadily growing for the upcoming years (IRENA, 2020)
- Job opportunities include engineering and consultancy roles at renewable energy companies, financials, specialized solar engineering companies along the solar energy value chain, governmental organizations, oil and gas companies and other industries.
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