What’s all this “energy transition” about? Find out yourself with a free online U of A course

Brian Zinchuk

Brian Zinchuk is editor and owner of Pipeline Online

Look closely at the semis at the base of this wind turbine south of Assiniboia. They are parked right beside it. That gives some idea of the scale of these turbines. Photo by Brian Zinchuk

CALGARY – There’s a new trend in education – free online courses for people who just want to learn something of interest. The University of Alberta is now offering such a massive open online course (MOOC) on the “energy transition.”

And Pipeline Online editor Brian Zinchuk has just signed up. And so can you, at https://www.coursera.org/learn/21st-century-energy-transition.

The course is free if you just want to audit it. It’s $66 if you want to take the tests and get a mark at the end.

It’s being led by Brad Hayes, president of Calgary firm Petrel Robertson Consulting. That firm is currently working on lithium from oilfield brine projects. Hayes has a PhD in geology.

Hayes said by email on Nov. 9, “I led the creation of the “21^st Century Energy Transition – How do We Make it Work?” MOOC to bring out as much important information as possible on the future of energy, taking pains to be unbiased.

“Of course, there are a few of my LinkedIn non-fans who have a quick scan and decide it’s hopelessly biased in favour of fossil fuels, but that reflects their biases, not mine. We acknowledge the importance of the emissions issue right up front, but the entire thrust of the course is that we have to be driven by energy needs, not solely by emissions targets.”

He added, “I’d like to point out that there are a number probably about 10 guest lecturers that are subject matter experts in their fields. So it’s not just me, chatting away for 28 lessons. We’ve got people that are supply chain experts, electricity grid experts, policy experts who are contributing expert opinions, not just not just what I think.”

Hayes is also working on a similar course regarding lithium development. It will be offered through a different outlet in the coming months.

Watch for updates as Zinchuk progresses through the energy transition course.

• 0079 Ministry of Energy Business_incentive PO
  0079 Ministry of Energy Business_incentive PO
• 0078 LHOS 2024
  0078 LHOS 2024
• 0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
  0077 Caprice Resources Stand Up For Free Speech
• 0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda
  0053 Kingston Midstream Westspur Alameda
• 0076 Latus only
  0076 Latus only
• 0073 SaskWorks-Pipeline Online
  0073 SaskWorks-Pipeline Online
• 0063 Turnbull Excavating hiring crusher
  0063 Turnbull Excavating hiring crusher
• 0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
  0061 SIMSA 2024 For Sask Buy Sask
• 0058 Royal Helium Steveville opens anonymous rocket
  0058 Royal Helium Steveville opens anonymous rocket
• 0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
  0055 Smart Power Be Smart with your Power office
• 0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
  0051 JML Hiring Pumpjack assembly
• 0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
  0049 Scotsburn Dental soft guitar
• 0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
  0046 City of Estevan This is Estevan
• 0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
  0041 DEEP Since 2018 now we are going to build
• 0032 IWS Summer hiring rock trailer music
• 0022 Grimes winter hiring
• 0021 OSY Rentals S8 Promo
• 0018 IWS Hiring Royal Summer
• 0013 Panther Drilling PO ad 03 top drive rigs
• 0011
• 0006 JK Junior
• 0002 gilliss casing services
  0002 gilliss casing services
• 9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
  9002 Pipeline Online 30 sec EBEX
• 9001