Elements of Renewable Energy - The Open University

In recent decades there’s been increasing global concern about the sustainability of our use of fossil fuels and nuclear power, which has led to increased interest in more sustainable renewable energy sources.

These ‘renewables’ have been utilised for centuries, in water mills, windmills and wood stoves, but in recent years we’ve developed the technology to utilise these natural power sources on a much larger scale.

During this free online course, we’ll study renewable energy using the four Greek elements as our weekly themes:

1. Earth – here we introduce the Earth’s renewable energy sources, most of which are derived from power delivered by the Sun.

1. Air – here we look at wind power.

1. Fire – here we focus on the direct power of the Sun.

1. Water – here we look at hydropower.

When you’ve completed this course you should have an improved understanding of how some key renewable energy technologies work and the contribution they might make to world needs.

All Open University Science MOOCs presented on FutureLearn are produced with the kind support of Dangoor Education.