Renewable Energy Engineering

This is a Connected Degree

Portsmouth is the only University in the UK with the flexibility to choose when to do an optional paid placement or self-employed year. Either take a placement in your third year, or finish your studies first and complete a placement in your fourth year. You can decide if and when to take a placement after you've started your course.

Overview

On this Renewable Energy Engineering degree, you'll study a branch of engineering that focuses on powering the world sustainably. From energy conversion and storage technology, to low carbon heating systems, electrical circuit analysis and large network grids, you'll develop the engineering skills and technical knowledge you need to design, assess and improve electrical, renewable and alternative energy systems that benefit the climate and society.

BEng or MEng?

You can study this course as a 3-year Bachelor's degree (BEng – H892) or a 4-year integrated Master's degree (MEng – H893). The MEng allows you to achieve a Master’s level degree with just one extra year of undergraduate study, further enhancing your career prospects.

Course highlights

• Learn about many aspects of electrical engineering, including grid management automation and the flow of high-voltage electricity

• Get a better understanding of energy-efficient buildings, via energy conservation and undertaking energy audits

• Use cost analysis to compare renewable energy technologies with traditional fuel systems from the points of view of business, industry and maintenance

• Develop your skills in computer-aided design (CAD) and learn computer code to programme a system or device

• Work in industry on optional modules or your optional placement year, networking with and working work alongside established experts and prospective employers

Careers and opportunities

When you graduate, you'll be ready for a career working at the forefront of the technology responsible for renewable energy. Not only is the work rewarding, but you'll be working in a highly skilled area, which is always in-demand, and get to be part of the solution to one of the most pressing issues facing society.

Ares you could work in include:

• energy generation – such as in solar or wind power

• energy conversion and storage – in areas such as batteries and hydrogen fuel cell technologies.

• sustainable transport systems – in fields such as electric vehicles, charging infrastructure, as well as hydrogen and biomethane vehicles

• low carbon heating systems – such as in solar, thermal, hydrogen energy, as well as biomethane and heat pumps

• energy-efficient buildings – in areas such as energy conservation, new materials, smart energy management and energy audits

• security – working to improve national security by working on new technologies and infrastructure

Placement year (optional)

Possible placement destinations:

• solar energy project developers

• fuel cell and battery manufacturers

• smart grid service providers

• energy storage and energy management businesses

• local councils

• sustainable transportation businesses

• energy research and development companies

Work experience and career planning

The Group Design Project module you take in year 2, the Individual Project module you take in year 3, and the Multidisciplinary Group Project you take in year 4 (MEng only), give you the opportunity to get work experience as part of your study.

Your project work will be on an industry-related or industry-sponsored subject related to renewable energy, or its application. You'll plan your project with consultation from your tutors and, where necessary, external industrial supervisors. Your project will contain elements that boost your future employability, such as a financial analysis of different energy options for a particular business.

• Year 1 *
  Energy Conversion and Storage Technology - 20 credits
  Energy and Electrical Engineering Fundamentals - 20 credits
  Introduction to Electrical and Analogue Electronic Circuits - 20 credits
  Introduction to Programming - 20 credits
  Mathematical Principles - 20 credits
  Principles of Digital Systems - 20 credits

• Year 2 *
  Core modules:
  Group Design Project - 20 credits
  Solar Energy Systems - 20 credits
  Innovation and Enterprise - 20 credits
  Low Carbon Heating Systems - 20 credits

Optional modules:
Engineering Mathematics - 20 credits
Microcontrollers and Programmable Logic - 20 credits
Control and Instrumentation - 20 credits
Robotics and Automation - 20 credits

• Year 3 *
  Individual Project - 40 credits
  Energy Efficient Buildings - 20 credits
  Wind Energy - 20 credits
  Bio Energy With CO2 Capturing - 20 credits
  Sustainable Transport Systems - 20 credits
  Control Systems Design - 20 credits

Placement year

After your second or third year, you can do an optional work placement year to get valuable longer-term work experience in the industry. We’ll help you secure a work placement that fits your aspirations. You’ll get mentoring and support throughout the year.

We use the best and most current research and professional practice alongside feedback from our students to make sure course content is relevant to your future career or further studies. Therefore, some course content may change over time to reflect changes in the discipline or industry and some optional modules may not run every year. If a module doesn’t run, we’ll let you know as soon as possible and help you choose an alternative module.