MSc in Renewable Energy Engineering

Why choose this course?

Climate change is a major challenge for the 21st century, requiring an alternative supply of cleaner energy from renewable sources. This course is designed with an engineering focus that deals with applications, combined with the business element; applicable whether you work for a large organisation or a small-to-medium-size enterprise.

You will gain skills and expert knowledge in solar power, wind power, biofuel and fuel cell technologies, renewable energy business and management. You will use computer-aided simulation technologies such as Polysun for solar-energy applications, WindPRO for wind farm applications and Gabi for life cycle assessment in biomass applications. Through option modules, you will be able to specialise in project engineering and management, risk management or engineering design and development. Advanced topics include 3D solid modelling and simulation, and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis and simulation.

Reasons to choose Kingston University

• You will prepare for a career in a wide range of industries, including automotive, aerospace, construction, petroleum, power and manufacturing.
• The course meets the requirements for Further Learning for a Chartered Engineer (CEng) if you already have an Accredited CEng (Partial) BEng (Hons) or an Accredited IEng (Full) BEng/BSc (Hons).
• Kingston has excellent industrial links which have developed throughout many countries. Examples include work with: Matra-Marconi Space, Ericsson, Balfour Beatty, the National Health Service, and British Gas.

Why renewable engineering?

Find out about the importance of this field of study.

Global warming and the consequences of climate change will increasingly affect both developing and developed countries, especially if the greenhouse gases currently increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere are not brought to an acceptable level.

A global priority for the 21st century must be to tackle CO2 emissions from fossil fuels, replacing them with sources of energy that are cleaner, sustainable and renewable. According to the International Panel for Climate Change (IPCC), the world's current use of renewable energy is only 13% of overall energy consumption.

In response to this, European Commission directives set a 20% reduction in the use of fossil fuel in Europe by 2020 and a 15% increase in the use of renewable energy in the UK. This means there are business incentives for developing alternative energy resources and technologies as a substitute for fossil fuel technology.

With the expected global growth in the renewable energy sector, there will be a crucial need for qualified and skilled engineers with specialist knowledge of the relevant technology. This MSc course focuses on viable sustainable and renewable sources of energy conversion based on systems using solar, wind and biotechnologies.

Accreditation

The MSc will meet, in part, the academic benchmark requirements for registration as a Chartered Engineer. Accredited MSc graduates who also have a BEng(Hons) accredited for CEng, will be able to show that they have satisfied the educational base for CEng registration.

It should be noted that graduates from an accredited MSc programme, who do not also have an appropriately accredited honours degree, will not be regarded as having the exemplifying qualifications for professional registration as a chartered engineer with the Engineering Council; and will need to have their first qualification individually assessed through the individual case procedure if they wish to progress to CEng.

Accreditation is a mark of assurance that the degree meets the standards set by the Engineering Council in the UK Standard for Professional Engineering Competence (UK-SPEC). Some employers recruit preferentially from accredited degrees, and an accredited degree is likely to be recognised by other countries that are signatories to international accords.