Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition

Teaching is reinforced with project work where emphasis is placed on simulating real-life situations and processes. Through this, you’ll learn how to use key communication platforms including digital tools for data analysis, modelling, and other interactive approaches.

Most the world’s greenhouse gas emissions relate to energy. This means that to achieve net zero, we must redevelop our energy systems at an unprecedented rate. According to a recent report, over 100,000 new people will be needed to work in the energy sector in the UK alone by 2030. Upon completion of this master’s programme, you will possess a diverse skill set that opens a wide range of opportunities and roles in renewable energy companies, government agencies, consulting firms, community groups, research institutions, and non-profit organisations.

Your Student Experience

Our expertise

Your learning will be informed by experts in renewable energy, economics and transition engineering at the International Centre for Islands Technology (ICIT) in Stromness, Heriot-Watt University’s Orkney campus, which is part of Heriot-Watt’s School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society. Your learning will also be informed by guest speakers from industry.

The Orkney campus is host to the Transition Lab, an “action research” group which works with a range of research organisations, businesses, and community groups to move Scottish islands towards decarbonisation through the Islands Centre for Net Zero.

The research relevance of this postgraduate programme ensures your studies remain innovative and industry focused.

Your learning environment

You’ll study at Heriot-Watt Orkney, our specialist campus which is one of the United Kingdom’s most stunning and unique university locations.

By choosing to study at our Orkney campus, you’ll become part of a vibrant local community, hear from guest lecturers from leaders in the sector, network with ingenuity-led industry professionals from many renewable energy sectors, benefit from relatively small class sizes, and participate in practical sessions right at the heart of the industry. You will have the opportunity to work on real-world problems, and work across disciplines to deliver practical solutions with global impact.

MSc Renewable and Sustainable Energy Transition uses a diverse range of teaching and learning approaches, including lectures, discussion sessions, project work, fieldwork, and more. Throughout your studies, you will get to know and build relationships with your teaching staff, academics, and peers. You will be assessed by coursework, exams, and your dissertation, and will receive support and feedback throughout the programme.

Outside of the classroom, you’ll benefit from living in a friendly island environment and experience landscapes of remarkable beauty. Orkney offers a large range of sports and leisure activities, and you’ll find there is lots to enjoy and explore.

Customise your learning

You will study the programme full-time for 12 months in Orkney. You’ll take seven mandatory courses and can customise your degree to match your specific interests or desired career pathway by choosing one optional course from a range of environmental specialist courses.

In semester three, you’ll undertake a specialised research project of your choice through your dissertation. You’ll be doing genuine research to produce new knowledge in an area that interests you, under the supervision of an appropriate academic.

Semester 1

A11TG Renewable Technology : Generation

This course considers the generation of renewable energy from renewable sources including solar, biomass, hydro, wind, wave and tidal energy. We will examine energy in the earth system, calculations of available resources, and technologies of energy capture. Assessment is split between understanding of the general principles, and a development project.

A11ER Economics of Renewable Energy

Explore key concepts in economics before going on to consider the fundamental debate of whether the state or the market should deliver energy to consumers, and the pros and cons of each. This includes an analysis of the costs of electricity from different sources, energy market structures, renewable energy incentives, and potential economic solutions to systemic market failures such as climate change.

A11TZ Transition Engineering

Transition Engineering is the work of delivering the system changes needed to achieve international agreements on global sustainability. This course will help you become a leader in the emerging discipline of Transition Engineering of complex systems. You will learn the overall approach, tools and methods that have been developed through more than 20 years of research aimed at generating ingenuity to spark strategic invention. Transition Engineering is interdisciplinary, building up knowledge about energy systems, infrastructure, built environments, transport but also society, environment and economics. The course is assessed on marked discussions, data analysis and modelling, and a case study report.

Optional courses

All students choose one of the following in semester 1:

A11EN Environmental Processes

This course introduces the basic principles in marine ecology, focusing on how different marine organisms interact with each other and their environment. It then covers human impact on the marine environment, biodiversity, and marine conservation.

A11OC Oceanography

This course focuses on the physics and chemistry of the ocean. Learning about the ocean has 3 primary motivations that underpin the content:

1. Earth's life systems depend on the ocean.

2. The ocean is an enormous resource, including categories of renewable energy.

3. Marine developments can only be developed responsibility with an understanding of the marine environment.

D11CA Climate Change, Sustainability and Adaptation

This course covers aspects of sustainability, climate science, climate resilience/vulnerability, and adaptation in the widest sense. In addition, students will also look at the policy and legislation related to climate change mitigation and action from the UK and beyond. The course assessment encourages students to research and critically evaluate emerging knowledge, science, principles, and technology related to addressing the climate crisis.

Semester 2

A11TI Integration of Renewable Technology

This course looks at how renewable energy integrates into larger energy systems. The emphasis is on electricity but heat and transport are considered as well. We will cover electrical grids, storage, “smart” systems, microgrids, and energy efficiency in buildings. As part of the assessment you will be invited to do high-level design of an integrated renewable energy system.

A11ET Energy Transition Lab

Energy Transition Laboratory involves real-world application of Transition Engineering, where students learn by doing. It includes project management, project definition, and other transferrable skills, integrated in a semester-long project that follows the “InTIME” methodology for energy transitions.

A11RN Renewable Technology Commercialisation

In this module you will learn about the process of renewable energy project development, from the initial exploration of possible sites through to construction, operation, and decommissioning, while gaining exposure to “the real world”. The majority of the teaching is by guest lecturers from industry who work from day to day on real projects.

A11RS Supply Chain Management, Decarbonisation and Renewable Energy

This course creates knowledge on the crucial role of energy in the global supply chains, and related implications for decarbonisation, net zero goals, and energy shortages. The course covers background knowledge about forward and reverse supply chains and logistics, before taking a deep dive into the different trajectories for the supply chain management of energy resources

Employability

Graduates leave with wide ranging inter-related and cross-disciplinary skills spanning the breadth of the renewables sectors. The degree will be of particular interest to anyone considering transitioning to leadership in energy transition and net zero.