Wind Energy & Wind Turbines

Course Description

Wind Energy and Wind Turbines is an introductory course at the level of algebra with the use of spread sheets for some analysis.

At the end of the course you should be able to:

Some of you will be taking this course as information for teaching, others for general information as you are policy makers (primarily international participants) and some for knowkedge so you can train users of the technology.  I have taught this course a number of times at WTAMU and have used the book and other materials in numereous workshops in the US and overseas.

Course Information

You do not need to buy the CD since the all the material will be online and you can print material. However, Wind Energy and Wind Turbines, CD (materials from course given Spring 2002) is available from WTAMU bookstore. That would save a bunch of printing. Materials online for 2003 will be essentially be the same with some revisions.  

Since WEWT CD is sold to the general public, detailed information on purchasing can be found here.

For participants in the area, on a strickly voluntary basis, there will be tours of the AEI Wind Test Center, USDA Wind Test Facility, and White Deer wind farm. Your input is needed and welcome.

You are expected to participate in the chat sessions and Bulletin Board.  Questions in the Bulletin Board and the discussion will be an integral part of the course.

Participants that have signed up for a certificate will not need to do a project.

Course Grade

Midterm Test 25%
Problem Sets 25%
Project (paper, web preferred) 15%
Bulletin Board 10%
Final 25%


Notes to Students

A. The instructor is fallible and not any smarter than you. Remember you are at the prime of ability for intellectual endeavors. YOUR EFFORTS ARE THE KEY. I will also be learning from you.

B.  WEB BASED COURSE
This is a web based course, but it is not self paced because due dates are structured. This means the students are doing the work with the instructor providing guidance. Username and password for the course will be issued after payment of fees.

C.  CHAT
Chat sessions are for exchanging information, asking questions with response from instructor, other students, and possibility guest professors.

D.  BULLETIN BOARD
Bulletin Board is for answering questions posted by the instructor .  You can not change your answer or change others answers.  Bulletin Board is also for comments by the students and other interested participants. We will probably be requesting comments from international advisors.

D.  PROBLEMS
You will be assigned 2-5 problems (different set) at the end of the Chapters. Each problem will have a value of 1.0.  Assignments and solutions will be posted. The easiest way to send in assignments is by using the File Upload tool. I have MS Office and MacLink Plus. If in doubt save assignment as rich text format, filename.rtf. Also MS Word has an equation editor. If only using word processing, ^ can be used to indicate exponent.

E.  OTHER MATERIAL OF INTEREST, INTERESTING LINKS
I want your comments and suggestions, especially on links. Send by coursemail. We are using Netscape Communicator for composing web pages.  Also send your comments and suggestions about the online aspect of the course. If you have ideas for graphics and even video clips which would help in understanding the material, please send them or send me coursemail.

Disability Statement

West Texas A & M University seeks to provide reasonable accommodations for all qualified persons with disabilities.  This University will adhere to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations and guidelines with respect to providing reasonable accommodations as required to afford equal educational opportunity.  It is the student's responsibility to register with the Disability Support Services and to contact the faculty member in a timely fashion to arrange for suitable accommodations.

Acknowledgements

I appreciate all the students that have previously taken this course and participants in workshops, along with many other people chasing the reality of sustainable energy, especially those in wind energy.  Jan Spears entered the book in Composer in 1998.  Some material will be updated as we go along, so notice the date of last revision for each chapter.  A hugh hunk of credit goes to Academic Services and the staff and students who developed WTOnline.