Applying Renewable Energy: Small-scale Systems
In this training, you will study small-scale systems used for the provision of hot water or electricity in households or in remote rural areas without access to the electricity grid:
Photovoltaics:
- Applications and market development
- Solar radiation
- System components
- System configurations (grid-tied and off-grids)
- Introduction to system design and yield estimation
Solar thermal:
- Relevance of solar thermal
- How solar thermal works
- Different solar thermal system types and its components
- System sizing, installation and commissioning
- Operation and maintenance
- Economics
Small hydropower:
- Different types of hydro power plants
- Resource assessment
- Civil engineering components
- Electro-mechanical equipment
- Economics
Biogas:
- Benefits and potential
- Classification of biogas plants
- Components of industrial biogas plants
- Substrates for biogas generation
- Biogas energy conversion
- Digestate as fertilizer
- Planning and implementation of biogas plants
Additionally, each participant will have access to short introductory courses on energy and electricity topics to learn or revise the basics. These courses are not mandatory, and will not be covered in the exam.
Receive a reminder one week before the registration deadline.
After the online training, you will be able to:
- Assess resources and suitability of sites for each technology
- Decide which components are to be used for which purpose
- Roughly calculate system size and energy yield and determine crucial paramerters
- Explain the principle functioning of each technology
Upon successful finalisation of the training, you will receive a RENAC Certificate.
Possible specialisations after successfully finishing this training:
- Certified RE Project Developer with a focus on Solar thermal systems or Biogas
Duration: 6 months
Study time: About 70 hours
Training language: English or Spanish
Detailed course description: A detailed course description is available for download here.
E-learning platform: Access the demo course on our e-learning platform.
Price: €625,00*
Contact
Raquel Cascales
Project Director E-Learning and Blended Learning
Tel: +49 (0)30 58 70870 46
Email: onlineacademy[at]renac.de
*incl 19 % of German VAT
Highlights
- Flexibility to study at any time and from any location
- RENAC content expert and learning platform technical support
- Moderated discussion forum for students
- Live lectures
- Multimedia learning materials
- Self-assessments, assignments and final exam
- Certified by the Staatliche Zentralstelle für Fernunterricht - ZFU (German Authority for Distance Learning)
- RENAC certificate upon successful finalisation of the programme
- We offer discounts for our alumni, group bookings, and multiple purchases. Contact us for further details.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Contact
Raquel Cascales
Project Director E-Learning and Blended Learning
Tel: +49 (0)30 58 70870 46
Email: onlineacademy[at]renac.de
Lecturers

Current position:
Katie De Albuquerque is head of the Solar Energy & Energy Efficiency Division at RENAC. She works with and supports a team of 10 professionals to manage capacity-building projects, develop training materials, and deliver training courses that cover PV, solar thermal, and energy efficiency topics for target audiences, including installers, engineers, decision-makers, and bankers.
Professional experience:
Before joining RENAC, Katie worked as a freelancer on a range of projects. She provided technical assistance during the construction and commissioning phases of commercial PV plants, setting up, renewable energy training centres, and delivering training. Before moving to Berlin, Katie worked at the Centre for Alternative Technology in Wales, UK, designing, installing, and operating small-scale renewable energy systems. She also provided consultancy services and taught on various master’s degree courses. Before this, she worked as a building services engineer for the engineering company Arup.
Education:
Katie received her master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.