Sociotechnology of Future Energy Systems

This module addresses the changing technological and societal characteristics of future energy systems.

Contemporary energy systems are confronted with technical and socio-economic developments, such as the climate crisis, renewable technologies, ICT-based control innovations, energy scarcity and environmental concerns. These changes will affect operational roles and responsibilities, market structures and actors' interests, and business models for energy services. Moreover, they may require new forms of governance to ensure reliable operations that meet socio-economic performance criteria. The course discusses the technical and socio-economic aspects of future energy systems, dealing with issues like the integration of new forms of distributive solar PV or large-scale off-shore wind energy into existing networks, various forms of sustainable energy sources, alternative energy carriers, storage methods, and the dynamics of transition processes.