Certificate of Graduate Studies in Wind Energy

New Jersey has recognized clean energy as a critical field for both economic development and environmental sustainability. Offshore wind has the potential to supply substantial amounts of clean energy to meet the State’s and the Nation’s power needs while creating jobs and addressing the climate crisis. Furthermore, offshore wind power plants can provide reliable and increasingly affordable renewable power near coastal energy load centers where there is a scarcity of sites for terrestrial large-scale renewable energy development. Southern Jersey is the center of the regional wind plan, with a wind port under construction nearby in Salem County, and the first ocean wind farm opening off of Atlantic City. Short- and medium-term workforce needs have been identified by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NERL) with the offshore wind industry alone expected to provide approximately 7,000 new jobs in Southern New Jersey by 2028.

Responding to this need, this Certificate of Graduate Study (COGS) in Wind Energy is a collaboration between Electrical and Computer Engineering program and Mechanical Engineering. This COGS is designed to provide a breadth and depth to students who want to specialize in wind energy systems and prepare them for a career in the wind energy industry. A unique aspect of this COGS is that it will develop graduates with a technical foundation in both electrical and mechanical side of the wind energy systems. Through this four-class sequence, students will be able to articulate the core concepts of wind energy, as well as different technical aspects associated with the operation of single turbines, and the entire wind farm.  The completion of this COGS will provide students with the necessary skill sets to start a career in wind energy industry or continue their education through graduate programs.

Program Requirements

Required Courses 6 s.h. (s.h.: semester hours/credit hours)

ECE 09.517 Technologies towards Green Energy Future  3sh

ME 10.535 Wind Energy  3sh

Elective Courses 6 s.h.

Choose two of the following (3 credits each):

ECE 09.508 Power Systems Engineering

ECE 09.510 Advanced Alternate Energy Systems

ECE 09.515 Emerging Electricity Market

ECE 09.518 Wind Energy System Planning and Operation

ECE 09.572 Advanced Smart Grid

ECE 09.516 Advanced Power Electronics

ECE 09.573 Advanced Smart Sensors

ECE 09.521 Fundamentals in Systems Engineering

ME 10.581 Aerodynamics

ME 10.522 Computational Fluid Dynamics

ME 10.530 Reliability Engineering

ME 10.550 Advanced Solid Mechanics

ME 10.560 Composite Materials

ME 10.562 Finite Element Modeling with ANSYS

Total Required Credits 12 -13 s.h.

Foundation Courses and Recommended Course Sequence.

Please contact the program coordinator, Dr. Jie Li, for additional details.

ECE 09.417/517 should be taken first, which provides fundamental knowledge for other electives and is also a prerequisite for some of the other electives (e.g., ECE 09.518). There is no prerequisite for ECE09.417/517.