AASHE Campus Sustainability Hub

Students that complete the graduate certificate in wind energy will be prepared for professional practice in the wind industry. This includes the ability to design wind turbines and wind turbine components, as well as understand the salient aspects of wind power plant design, including project economics, interactions with the electrical grid and environmental impacts.

Have an understanding of on-shore and off-shore wind energy conversion systems that is necessary for professional engineering practice, including the energy available in the wind, how wind turbines capture that energy, convert it into useful mechanical and electrical energy, and ultimately deliver it to customers on-grid or off-grid; Demonstrate an ability to design a wind energy conversion system or component to meet desired needs within realistic constraints such as economic, environmental, social, political, ethical, health and safety, manufacturability, and sustainability; Possess the ability to use the techniques, skills and modern tools necessary for engineering practice in wind energy, including computer-aided solution methods, demonstrated through development and/or application of computer models of wind turbines, wind generators, controllers for fixed-speed and variable-speed wind turbines, and wind turbine rotor aerodynamics and design; Have a working knowledge of wind energy technical challenges such as grid code requirements and wind turbine aerodynamic power regulation methods such as stall, pitch, and active stall control methods with respect to implementation, control complexity, and wind energy conversion efficiency. Have an ability to devise wind engineering solutions and evaluate their technical and economic merits, understanding their potential environmental impacts, in order to meet established goals in a global and societal context; and Have knowledge of contemporary issues related to wind energy, and an understanding of how those issues impact wind energy conversion system design, application and regulation.

• Link: Wind Energy Graduate Certificate