History of the power industry

About the course

The course is aimed at developing competencies related in the field of historical development of the energy sector of the economy, the ability to analyze its impact on related industries and studying the relationship between the history of energy and engineering disciplines, such as Design of power supply systems, Optimization problems in the electric power industry, Optimization of modes operation of power systems, Diagnostics of electrical equipment, Electric energy generation technologies.

The purpose of studying the course is to from a comprehensive understanding of the key achievements in the development of energy in the period from the 18th century to the present day and their impact on society and industry.

The course History of the power industry studies the historical process of the emergence of the modern energy system, identifies the key technological and economic stages of this process, and examines the impact of the development of the energy industry on related industries. The course develops an understanding of the types of energy industry and electric power transmission systems, the development of dispatch and control systems, and the features of the economics of the electric power industry in national and global contexts. Particular attention is paid to the problems of the impact of the electric power industry on the environment.

Based on the results of mastering the course, the student will be able to:

• analyze the processes of formation and formation of modern energy;
• classify historically established areas of the power industry, evaluate the contribution of the most important figures and organizations to the development of these areas;
• evaluate the main historical processes of formation of power systems in different countries.

Course Program

Section 1. Historical Formation of Industrial Power Industry

Topic 1.1. Discovery of Industrial Application of Electricity
Topic 1.2. Development of the Industrial Use of Electricity (2nd half of the XIX - early XX centuries)
Topic 1.3. Industrial Power Generation: Coal and Hydraulic Engineering
Topic 1.4. Industrial Power Generation: Oil and Gas. Part 1
Topic 1.5. Industrial Power Generation: Oil and Gas. Part 2
Topic 1.6. Industrial Power Generation: The Emergence of Nuclear Power Generation Theoretical Materials
Topic 1.7. Industrial Power Generation: Global Development of Nuclear Generation Theoretical Materials
Topic 1.8. Industrial Generation Based on Solar and Wind Power Theoretical Materials
Topic 1.9. Chemical Energy Sources: Hydrogen Energy. Biofuel Energy

Section 2 Power Industry and Power Transmission Systems

Topic 2.1. Power engineering: Europe, USA, USSR
Topic 2.2. Power Engineering: Countries of Asia and Latin America
Topic 2.3. Industry of Electrical Materials
Topic 2.4. Power Transmission and Distribution Industry
Topic 2.5. Electric Transport

Section 3. Global Economics and Energy Geography

Topic 3.1. Historical Formation of the Structure of the Power Industry of the USSR and Russia: Generation, Industry, Science
Topic 3.2. Energy economics: resources, players and routes
Topic 3.3. Social and Environmental Effects of the Power Industry

Weekly classes include watching video lectures, studying text materials, performing educational, control, and calculation tasks, self-control tests.

The final stage of the course is the completion of a final test, containing questions on all sections of the course.

To work effectively with the course, we recommend:

• work in accordance with the timeline of the opening materials;
• perform tests for self-control after watching video materials and study tasks after studying text and additional materials (the number of attempts to complete them is not limited);
• adjust video lecture playback settings using player menu buttons;
• ask and discuss questions in the course chat that have caused your interest or difficulties in terms of studying educational materials.

The course materials use illustrations taken from open sources with a free distribution and editing license (unsplash.com, freepik.com, shutterstock.com).

Rules of Communication in the Course

To create a comfortable and constructive atmosphere in the course chat, we suggest that you adhere to the following rules:

• show respect to other participants of the course in various interaction situations;
• allow only constructive criticism, do not get personal;
• adhere to the position of an active participant of the forum;
• adhere to the principles of generally accepted morality and network etiquette.

The forum prohibits:

• any kind of messages, containing political, religious or other propaganda;
• post answers and solutions to the control tasks;
• post any kind of commercial messages;
• post any information that contradicts the law.

Assessment of learning outcomes is carried out as follows:

• The maximum number of points for the course is 100.
• Self-control tests make up 5% of the final grade.
• Study assignments make up 10% of the final grade.
• The calculation tasks make up 25% of the final grade.
• Control tasks make up 10% of the final grade.
• The midpoint test is 10% of the final grade.
• The final test is 40% of the final grade.

In order to successfully finish the course, you must complete all the control activities, planned in it, as well as pass the final test using the identification procedure.

In case of occurring technical problems you can contact technical specialists at the following e-mail address: openedu@urfu.ru. Indicate the name of the course, login and e-mail of your account in the letter and describe the problem in detail, attaching a screenshot (this will speed up its resolution). All organizational issues are resolved on the forum.

Pay attention!

At any stage of studying the course, you can get information about your results of completing educational and control tasks on the course Progress page.

Announcements and additional information are placed on the Main page.

At the end of the course we ask you to leave your feedback on its managing for the further improvement.

We wish you an efficient mastering of the course!

Sincerely, the course team.