Picture (160x96, 7.1Kb)NRES 732: Doable Renewables Web Support

Home Energy
School Energy
Renewable Energy
Introduction

This page exists to provide more information to those who are enrolled in NRES 732: Doable Renewables. Please let us know if you think other information would be helpful in this section.

Course Requirements

Doable Renewables PowerPoint Presentation available for download (4.21 MB)

View KEEP's Elementary Supplement, for grades K-4.

Download selected energy education resources that are related to renewable energy which includes where to purchase the materials and how much they cost.

Focus on Energy Fact Sheets

Renewable Energy Site Assessment Request Forms
Commercial Wind Site Assessment Request Forms
Available from Focus on Energy: Renewable Energy

Emerald Dairy Farm Teachers Visit Emerald Dairy Farm Sterilized Manure at Emerald Dairy
Teachers visit Emerald Dairy in March 2009 learn about methane digestion. Shown in the third photo are two piles of byproducts produced by the methane digester. The larger pile is sterilized manure and is used for bedding for the animals, which eliminates the need to purchase bedding. The smaller pile is mixed with black dirt to create a very fertile soil for landscapers. www.afuturefarm.com

Sun Prairie Course Participants
Sun Prairie course participants, June 2008

Activities from Doable Renewables

The activities listed below are in the Doable Renewables Supplement. The information we provide here will assist with each of the activities or will give you more information.

Catch That Wind -

PicoTurbine Windmill Kit: http://www.picoturbine.com/

Wind turbine manufacturing company employees and earnings

The Photos Page has many photos of large wind systems that are in Wisconsin and the surrounding states.

The Kewaunee County sites lie along the naturally windy Niagara Escarpment. Only 5% of Wisconsin's land area has enough wind to economically support electricity generation (MG&E).

Corn in Your Car -

List of activities developed to energize agriculture education, including Corn in Your Car.

Facts about Biomass Fuels

Don't Waste Waste -

Parts of a tree and their functions

Online Dichotomous Tree Identification Key - Developed by the Wisconsin K-12 Forestry Education Program (LEAF)

Energy Content and Weight per Cord of Certain Types of Wood Found in Wisconsin

Wisconsin Energy Statistics (includes Wisconsin Renewable Energy Use, by Type of Fuel which includes Wood and other Biomass)

Fuel Cell Futures -

How fuel cells work: http://www.eere.energy.gov/RE/hydrogen_fuel_cells.html
http://science.howstuffworks.com/fuel-cell2.htm
http://www.humboldt.edu/~serc/animation.html

Fuel cell kits:
http://www.fuelcellstore.com
http://kitsusa.net/

Geothermal Gazette -

Facts about Geothermal Energy

Green Home Design -

Illustrations and links to green home design: http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/ENVI/GreenAll.html#straw%20bale
http://www.greenhomebuilding.com/owner_builder.htm http://www.strawbalehomes.com/design.html
http://www.architectureweek.com/environment.html
http://www.smartcommunities.ncat.org/
http://www.ecoiq.com/greendesign/

Insulation Creations -

Download the Fact Sheet for Insulation from Focus on Energy

Let the Sun Shine In -

Solar Windows (example of completed tables using 4' X 4' windows; one window at each of the eight directions). Note: Your numbers will get very large if you have larger windows and many windows on each side of your house or room.
Data Table 1 (31k)
Data Table 2 (21k)

View current heating fuels prices (PDF) on the Wisconsin Department of Administration Web site. This information will help in estimating the heat equivalent cost for each of the heating fuels compared to that of the sun. Or, use the table below.

Heating Fuel

Residential Cost

Electricity

9.262 cents per KWh ($0.09262/KWh)

Natural Gas

78.5 cents per therm ($0.785/therm)
1 therm=100 cubic feet

Fuel Oil

$2.032/gallon

Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) (Propane)

$1.559/gallon

 

 


Energy prices vary much throughout the year depending on supply and demand, outdoor temperatures, current events, etc.

Windows, doors, and skylight information: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Check out Wisconsin Solar Design to see many choices regarding skylights, daylighting, and passive solar designs.

Visit Daylighting Collaborative to view more daylighting options and profiles of Wisconsin businesses who use daylighting designs.

Over the Years -

Go to the below links for historical facts about geothermal, wind, biomass, and hydropower:

The video "Harness the Wind," produced by the National Film Board of Canada, uses animation to describe historic, current and future uses of the wind. This video can be purchased at
http://onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/collection/film/?id=12563.

A Piece of the Pie -

Link for Wisconsin Energy Statistics

Placement Matters -

To learn more about solar placement, visit the solar page of the Renewable Energy Online Course, designed by KEEP staff. You will find many images and other helpful information when teaching students about the placement of photovoltaic systems.

Renewable Candy Resources -

Wisconsin Energy Statistics

U.S. and World Population Clocks - http://www.census.gov/main/www/popclock.html

World Population Clock - http://www.ibiblio.org/lunarbin/worldpop

Renewable World -

Publications with Renewable Energy focus: Wind Power Monthly, Home Energy Magazine, Home Power Magazine, Mother Earth News, Solar Today, and Off Grid Living.

Book: Material World - http://bookcomplex.info/0871564300.html

A Renewable World - Shows where renewable energy is being used worldwide.

Photos of Renewable Energy Sources in other countries
Renewable Energy in China article

State of the Village Report: Explore the statistics in "If the world were a village of only 100 people" (note the mention of electricity)

Siting for Solar -

Example sketch of Activity Sheet B indicating possible shading of solar panels.

Professional Solar Pathfinders (click images to learn more)

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Learn how to mount solar panels and how they work: http://www.rpc.com.au/products/panels/pvmodules/pvmodules.html

Solar applications:
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Solar Explorations -

Facts about Solar Electricity
Facts about Solar Heating

Solar Soup Cans Experiment Data Sheet

Solar Transmissions -

List of companies that sell solar panels: http://www.wisconsinsolardesign.com
http://energy.sourceguides.com/index.shtml
Wisconsin Solar Design Inc., 800.443.1639, Fax 608.836.5933
Super Sky Products, Inc., 800.558.0467
Naturalite, 800.527.4018

Junior Solar Sprint - Ideas for building a solar car http://www.nrel.gov/education/jss_hfc.html

Junior Solar Sprint Classroom Investigations

NREL solar home page http://www.nrel.gov/solar/

Sustainable Communities -

NRES 733: Energy Through Our Lives course material - Community Energy Use
Survey Instrument: Community Energy Use Survey - Download as Word document or .pdf

Energy Savings Analysis Tools - Available from Focus on Energy

What Renewable Energy Does For Me -

Observe photos of renewable energy at work.

Where the Wind Blows -

Small wind system
Large wind system

Our Photos Page has many photos of large wind systems that are in Wisconsin and the surrounding states.

Visit Focus on Energy's Information Center for Wind Maps and other information about Wind energy potential

The Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) program provides a color-coded map indicating which states have validated wind resources maps.

The Midwest Renewable Energy Association provides site assessment services for those who are interested in learning if their property is a good site for a wind turbine.

Related activity from the Bureau of Land Management - Blowin' in the Wind

Working Water -
Adapted from "Energetic Water" pages 242-245 in the Project WET Curriculum and Activity Guide. Bozeman, Mont: The Watercourse and the Council for Environmental Education, 1995. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Map of Electric Utility Hydroelectric Sites in Wisconsin or page 67 from the Wisconsin Energy Statistics

Check out the Photos Page for many photos of hydroelectric sites in Wisconsin and the surrounding states.

Browse the Field Trips to find a hydroelectric site in your area!

Send comments and suggestions to KEEP, energy@uwsp.edu or call 715.346.4770.

Copyright 2001 KEEP

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