Graduate Study in Energy Sustainability at CEEP

Students can pursue an interest in energy issues through individual and team-based research projects related to CEEP’s internationally recognized programs in renewable energy, energy conservation and efficiency, distributed resource planning, climate-sensitive energy policy and energy justice. Also available is a large menu of courses addressing a full range of energy challenges from policy designs for energy sustainability to international dimensions of energy-environment-society relations, with specialty courses in electricity policy and planning, renewable energy technology, energy economics, energy and sustainable development, and political economy of energy (among others). Graduate offerings on the above subjects, both as lecture courses and tutorials, are available in all four degree programs. Energy studies cover a wide array of issues and rely upon a diverse array of theories and approaches drawn from economics and econometrics, policy analysis, energy politics and policy formulation, international studies, and political economy and political ecology (see Political Ecology for more information on CEEP’s unique work in this theoretical area).

Graduate Courses in Energy

International Perspectives on
Energy and Environmental Policy
This course analyzes international aspects of energy and environment as they interact with: politics, society, economics, technology and resources. The course focuses on interrelationships among energy, environment and development from international perspectives. It considers various energy and environmental policy alternatives and how they may or may not contribute to a sustainable world.

Electricity Policy and Planning
This course focuses on the technological and policy evolution of the electricity industry. It also considers how technology innovations and policy/regulatory actions have guided the planning of the industry. Students investigate the range of supply and demand side resources (both existing and emerging) in the sector. As well, technical characteristics, utility organizational and planning structures, and emerging alternatives in utility technology, planning and policy are examined. Emphasis is placed on American experience with a comparative analysis of other national experiences. Round table discussions are used to examine the application of technologies, planning models, organizational structures and policy alternatives in developing economies.

Solar Electric Systems
Intended to provide social scientists with an understanding of the science and engineering achievements and challenges in developing solar energy, the course reviews the basic physics of energy and then examines the technical characteristics and performance of fossil fuel and renewable energy systems. Solar thermal, solar electric and wind technologies are the focus of the course.

Political Economy of the Environment
Relations between societies and nature are, and have always been, complex. But contemporary relations and their manifestations, such as acid rain, urban air pollution, deforestation, thinning of the upper atmospheric ozone layer, endangered species, threats to biodiversity, and the prospect of global warming, are raising concerns that fundamental problems in society-nature relations exist. This course reviews several theories and policy orientations ranging from Neo-Malthusianism to ecological economics and eco-Marxism. Policy case studies covering such issues as Environmental Justice, Environment and Public Health, Trade and the Environment, Global Climate Change, and Sustainable Development are used to evaluate the current range of political-economic explanations of nature-society relations.

Resources, Development and the Environment
The seminar addresses food, resource, energy and population issues in relationship to economic development and the earth's energy/resource base and "carrying capacity." The focus is on the feasibility of sustainable development under conditions of rapid population growth, industrialization and capitalism. The globalization of the economic system and its impact on the environment, and the North-South debate over environment and development are given detailed attention.

Topics in the Political Economy of Energy and Environment
A tutorial surveying the literatures of political economy and political ecology as approaches for the analysis of interlocking energy-environment issues, including climate change, urban pollution, acid rain, and catastrophic environmental risk (e.g., accompanying the reliance on nuclear power and large-scale fossil fuel and hydropower facilities).

Topics in Sustainable Energy Development
A tutorial surveying different conceptual and policy definitions of sustainable energy development. Readings of historical and contemporary discussions of the concept of sustainable energy development are used in conjunction with student-initiated research to develop an in-depth study of a specific topic such as solar cities, sustainable energy options for rural development, or the hydrogen economy.

Readings in Political Economy of Energy and Environment
Advanced readings in political economy and political ecology are used in this tutorial to examine key theoretical and conceptual problems in current energy-environment-society relationships. These include: the prospect of climate change, the “normal” pollution/ “normal” accident issue, growth-oriented versus democratic economies, the over- consumption and over-production theses, and environmental commodification.

Readings in Energy and Gender
The tutorial surveys a growing literature on the importance of considering gender in the design and operation of energy systems. A particular focus is rural energy development in which household and community energy needs are often provided by off-grid electricity systems and direct use of primary energy sources. Gender differences in energy system siting and in priorities for energy services, fuels, and technologies are explored based on recent research.

Readings in Energy Economics
An advanced tutorial in energy economics that examines micro- and macro-economic research on energy sources and systems. Economic techniques for forecasting energy use/supply and for evaluating policy options (e.g., cost-benefit analysis) are investigated. The course can be tailored by the student to focus on conventional fuels (fossil and nuclear energy), alternative sources (renewables, energy efficiency, hydrogen, etc.) and/or policy choices (e.g., market versus regulatory development of energy services).

Readings in Climate Change Politics and Policy
International climate change politics and the policy responses under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change are examined analytically and critically. Key issues and the character of the political contests underway are examined from an interdisciplinary perspective, using contributions from science and technology studies, international relations, environmental and political theory, sociology, environmental economics, environmental philosophy, and global environmental governance. Prominent philosophical and theoretical contributions are examined, with particular interest in global environmental commons regimes, ecological justice, and global environmental governance.