D3.3 – Smart renewable energy training modules
The Smart Renewable Energy training modules are the teaching materials of the course developed by the Department of Energy of Politecnico di Milano: a hands-on introduction to photovoltaic systems applied to tourism, from electrical basics to performance monitoring and economic assessment. They were delivered during the intensive training session in Milan, 22–26 June 2026, and are available on the SOHO Moodle platform.
Where to find the materials. All the training materials are uploaded on the SOHO Moodle platform, moodle.sohoproject.eu, as the course Smart Renewable Energy, with a copy for each partner university in Malaysia (USM, UTAR), Vietnam (UTE, UD) and Bangladesh (AIUB, JU). Access is granted to the teachers and students enrolled by the partners.
The materials
| Unit | Lecturer | Slides | What it covers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Introduction to electrical quantities | Department of Energy, POLIMI | 32 | Voltage, current and power conventions; DC and RMS values; phasors; single-phase AC power – active, reactive, complex and apparent power, power factor; three-phase systems (star/delta, line and phase quantities, balanced systems) and the single-phase equivalent method – the minimum every PV designer needs. |
| Introduction to photovoltaic systems | Prof. Sonia Leva | 35 | PV market trends (IEA PVPS), module prices and land use; stand-alone vs grid-connected layouts with their balance-of-system components; solar radiation, air mass, tilt and azimuth, the PVGIS tool; PN junction and cell construction; the I–V curve, Voc, Isc and MPP and their dependence on irradiance and temperature; cell technologies (mono-, multi-Si, thin film) and efficiencies; modules, strings, bypass diodes, STC, degradation and temperature coefficients; inverters (micro, string, central) and the loss chain. |
| Performance assessment | Assoc. Prof. Emanuele Ogliari | 36 | Operation and maintenance and monitoring per IEC 61724: sensors (reference cells, pyranometers, PT100, energy meters), SCADA vs web monitoring; inspection methods (visual, I–V tracing, IR thermography, electroluminescence); the normalised indices – reference yield, final yield, performance ratio, temperature-corrected PR and NREL weather-corrected PR; case studies of 22 plants in Italy and of the SolarTechLab module (PR 0.73–0.86 over four years); snail trails, hot spots and a gallery of field defects. |
| Preliminary design and economic assessment of PV systems | Dr. Nicoletta Matera | 36 | From technical performance to cash flows: CAPEX and OPEX models, degradation, self-consumption, depreciation and taxes; NPV, IRR, ROI, discounted payback and LCOE with a fully worked 200 kWp case; an Excel workbook (inputs, yearly model, indicators) applied to a Milan plant; group exercise: a 120 kWp rooftop plant on a hotel in Palermo, with an investment recommendation presented by each group. |
| MOOC materials | POLIMI | — | A curated set of videos for self-study: history of solar energy, module parameters, orientation and tilt, grid-connected and stand-alone systems, PV economics, optimal PV–wind sizing, plus SolarTechLab videos on drone-based plant monitoring, PV power forecasting and environmental sensors. |
Teaching approach
The module is designed for 40 hours (20 hours of lectures and 20 hours of laboratory) plus 14 hours of individual study, with “Principles of electrical systems” as prerequisite. In Milan the five days alternated lectures with practical sessions in SolarTechLab (I–V tracing, module parameters, outdoor layouts and grid connection) and with the estimation of PV producibility using open-access software, followed by group work on country-specific test cases from Malaysia, Vietnam and Bangladesh, a written test, self-study of the MOOC materials and a visit to the EN:lab. Assessment: course tests (40 %), laboratory tests (40 %) and an oral project (20 %).
About this deliverable
| Deliverable | D3.3 – Smart renewable energy training modules |
| Work package | WP3 – Development of training materials |
| Lead partner | POLIMI – Politecnico di Milano, Department of Energy (Assoc. Prof. Emanuele Ogliari) |
| Related curriculum | D2.2 – Training curriculum, Module 3 |
| First delivery | Intensive training session, Politecnico di Milano, 22–26 June 2026 |
| Platform | moodle.sohoproject.eu – Smart Renewable Energy |
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them. Project n° 101129336.