Student Fact File: Renewable Energy

Image: UNSW

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

RENEWABLE ENERGY POWERING ELECTRIC VEHICLES CREATING GREEN ENERGY FUTURES

Image: Shutterstock

BACKGROUND

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

“Revolutionising how we power our world is an enormous task and impacts every industry and sector.”

The future of renewable energy Renewable energy encompasses many different technologies and systems. The development of these technologies is complex, and there is a critical need for people who have the skills and knowledge to understand them. Demand for graduates with these skills is growing at the incredible rate of almost 30% every year!

Renewable energy technologies help to decrease emissions and transition society to a new net zero emissions economy. Behind this transition are decades of research that has increased the efficiency of energy generation, distribution and storage. Today, renewable energy research is transforming the way we use energy in our homes, in industry and in transport. Studying renewable energy will provide students with the skills they need for entirely new careers and industries.

UNSW SYDNEY

“Revolutionising how we power our world is an enormous task that impacts every industry and sector, and will require passionate, driven graduates with skills and knowledge in renewable energy and sustainability.”

– Alistair Sproul, Head of School, School of Photovoltaic and Renewable Energy Engineering This Fact File provides information on how renewable energy technologies work, directions for future development, information on renewable energy industries and careers, and case studies of people working in renewable energy projects and businesses.

It also includes a series of activities on renewable energy linked to the Australian Curriculum: Science and General Capabilities.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 2

BACKGROUND

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

Image: Shutterstock

Image: Shutterstock

Types of renewable energy

Solar thermal systems

Solar panels use solar photovoltaic (PV) technology.

Semiconductors capture light and convert it to direct current, which then travels through an inverter that changes it to alternating current. Solar PV can be small-scale or large-scale. Australia has a huge capacity for solar PV and there are already 2.68 million solar PV systems in Australia, which is 591 watts per person, almost eight times the worldwide average.

Focusing on creating heat rather than transforming light directly into electricity, solar thermal systems concentrate solar energy, using mirrors to direct sunlight into a central location. The heat is captured in a fluid which is then used to heat water to create steam to power a turbine and create electricity.

In Australia, concentrated solar thermal is a fledgling industry.

Image: UNSW

Image: Shutterstock

Solar panels

UNSW lights up solar PV

Wind

UNSW School of Photovoltaic & Renewable Energy Scientia Professor Martin Green’s lab research on PERC solar cells revolutionised the efficiency and costs of solar photovoltaics: these cells are now a commercial standard throughout the world, powering 90% of all new solar panel modules.

Wind power is the process of generating electricity from the wind. Turbines convert wind into usable electricity, without emissions or noise pollution. > Watch: How do wind turbines work? - Rebecca J. Barthelmie and Sara C. Pryor

Sales of PERC cells (PERC stands for passivated emitter and rear contact) are predicted to surpass US$1 trillion by 2040. It is estimated that they will save Australia at least $750 million in power production costs over the next decade. Prof. Green won the Global Energy Prize for this research in 2018. > Watch: Speed Learning - Photovoltaics

UNSW SYDNEY

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 3

BACKGROUND

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

Image: Shutterstock

Image: Shutterstock

Types of renewable energy

Biomass is a form of energy that comes from organic materials like wood, agricultural waste, or even animal manure. Biomass can be used for heat or electricity generation in power plants. It’s also used to produce biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.

Geothermal energy uses heat from inside the Earth in the form of steam or water. It can be used for things like cooking, bathing and heating, and can also be converted into electricity. A geothermal power plant uses steam to spin turbines that generate electricity.

> Watch: Renewable Energy 101: How Does Biomass Energy Work?

> Watch: Geothermal 101

Image: Shutterstock

Geothermal

Image: Shutterstock

Biomass

Hydropower

Ocean waves

In a hydropower system, water stored high up in a dam or reservoir is released downhill when needed. The force of the water at the bottom of the dam causes turbines to spin. These turbines generate electrical energy, using magnets and copper wire.

Wave energy systems use the water’s movement to make electricity. Wind causes the ocean to rise and fall, causing a wave energy machine to pull on a cable.

This cable is attached to a column of magnets which induce an electric current. The machine is secured to the ocean floor where cables transport the electric current to the shore.

> Watch: Hydropower 101

> Watch: How It Works: Wave Energy

UNSW SYDNEY

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 4

BACKGROUND

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

How is renewable energy used in Australia?

Distributed energy resources (DERs) Electricity generation in the past was a simple one-way system – from a gas or coal fired power station or hydropower generation, through to the grid and then the consumer. Nowadays, with the uptake of solar energy, the development of large-scale solar farms, microgrids and electric vehicles, we’ve entered a new phase of electricity consumption: one that’s closer to getting us to net zero energy and decreasing emissions.

Today, households, solar farms and even cars can become distributed energy resources – each generating and consuming energy, and connected through smart grids that enable a two-way flow of payments and electricity generation and consumption.

Did you know?

In 2020, 24% of Australia’s total electricity generation was from renewable energy sources, including solar (9%), wind (9%) and hydro (6%) Source: energy.gov.au/ data/renewables

Electric vehicles (EVs) Vehicles on our roads account for 10% of emissions around the world, and that figure is rising faster than other sectors, according to the 2021 Global EV Outlook. Currently, less than 1% of cars on the road in Australia are EVs. To change this, a clear policy on EVs is needed, as well as the development of infrastructure to support this.

UNSW research is looking at ways in which we can improve uptake of EVs, and the role they will play in the grid as DERs, as well as how to develop faster, more efficient EVs. “While private vehicles make up a majority of transport use, there is a huge opportunity to electrify the entire transport network including bicycles, buses, taxis and rideshare and even ferries,” says UNSW PhD candidate Katelyn Purnell, whose research explores electric vehicles and electricity grid modelling and planning.

Sunswift Racing is a UNSW project that gets undergraduate students in the Bachelor of Renewable Energy Engineering to work on a solar powered EV that races 3000km across Australia from Darwin to Adelaide. Along with expert researchers, the student team works as engineers, business development and project managers to learn real-world skills while creating a cutting-edge vehicle (p9-10).

Energy export

The generation of green hydrogen (sustainably produced hydrogen gas created by splitting water into oxygen and hydrogen) has the capacity to become a major industry for Australia. Green hydrogen is in high demand, with markets around the world looking to transition to low-carbon energy sources, and is part of Australia’s Long-Term Emissions Reduction Plan.

UNSW SYDNEY

Image: UNSW

Australia has a huge capacity for solar energy generation, thanks to large land areas and excellent solar exposure. There are also plentiful resources for wind and hydro power generation. Recently, there has been a push to develop renewable energy resources that can be transported from an area of supply to one of demand.

Examples include Sun Cable’s Australia-Asia Power Link, which aims to build the world’s largest solar farm, and world’s largest battery. Stored energy will be transported to Singapore via a 5000km high voltage direct current transmission system (p7-8).

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 5

Image: Sun Cable

CASE STUDIES

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

Case Study 1

Image: Sun Cable

Star power An interest in renewable energy combined with a drive for business drove Luke Marshall to his amazing career in the solar energy startup, Sun Cable.

Renewable energy is a booming new industry for Australia with plenty of jobs being created and fresh ideas coming from research – like better batteries, improved solar cells and even the concept of exporting solar energy from one country to another.

Luke Marshall is the Chief Research and Development Officer for Sun Cable, a company with the ambitious aims of developing the world’s largest solar energy infrastructure network.

It’s a career that didn’t exist when Luke studied to become a solar energy engineer with UNSW Sydney’s Renewable Energy faculty. Now, he’s helping to create an entirely new industry!

UNSW SYDNEY

“We’re so lucky in Australia because we have some of the best teaching and research on the planet for renewable energy!”

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 6

Image: Sun Cable

CASE STUDIES

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

Plugging into power Sun Cable’s grand aim is to sell electricity made in Australia to other countries.

“We’re going do that by making a gigantic extension cord that goes from Australia to Singapore in South East Asia,” says Luke. Of course, ‘extension cord’ is a simplification – instead, Sun Cable are developing a high-tech undersea cable capable of generating 3.2 gigawatts of power and transferring it 4200km from Australia to Singapore, providing the city state with 15% of its power needs.

“Singapore is a big city that is on an island and they don’t have enough space to put down solar panels and build wind turbines. So, at the moment they have to burn gas, which pollutes the environment, and they want to stop doing that,” says Luke.

Solar panels convert sunlight directly into electricity using a technology known as a semiconductor cell.

One or more panels can be installed to power a single light, cover the roof of a house, or be combined into a large-scale solar farm generating hundreds of megawatts of electricity. With the goal of building 26 million solar panels and the longest networking cable to date, there are plenty of challenges in Luke’s job. Solving these problems involves some cool tech – from robots to build the solar farms, to better batteries to store the electricity.

UNSW SYDNEY

Getting into renewable energy Luke studied a Bachelor of Renewable Energy Engineering at UNSW Sydney and although he always wanted to be an engineer, also studied computer science, and was interested in business and economics. He says there’s a bunch of interesting careers in renewable energy in addition to engineering, from land managers and business developers to marine biologists and environmental scientists.

“My degree gave me a good foundation in the basis of how the world works in terms of physics and chemistry, as well as engineering. When I was in my fourth year, I started working on problems more specific to renewable energy. In your fourth year you do a thesis, and mine was a big report about how to build solar farms with really big batteries attached to them,” he says.

“We’re so lucky in Australia because we have some of the best teaching and research on the planet for renewable energy. It really is the age of renewable energy, and we’re at the start of that.

“My advice to someone interested in this space or anything new is to try while you are young to gain as broad a range of knowledge and skills as you can and learn about as much of how the world works as you possibly can, because if you’re interested in something – that’s gonna be big!”

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 7

Image: UNSW

CASE STUDIES

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

Case Study 2

Speed challenge!

Since the late 90s, the UNSW Sunswift racing team has designed and built cutting-edge electric vehicles (EVs) that run purely on the power of the Sun. They also regularly race the cars for the 3000km Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, a sprint all the way from Darwin to Adelaide. Not only are they regular winners of the race against uni teams around the world, they’ve also smashed the record books, setting a Guinness World Record for the lowest energy consumption while driving across Australia in a solar-electric car. On the next page, two of the team members talk about what it takes to ace engineering’s biggest solar racing challenge.

UNSW SYDNEY

Image: UNSW

The Sunswift Racing team at UNSW have taken on the challenge of engineering a solar car that is racing into the record books.

“I have always loved challenging myself to work out how things work and why, which made engineering a natural choice.”

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 8

CASE STUDIES

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

1 Isabelle Ryan Bachelor of Renewable Energy Engineering/Computer Science School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering, UNSW “I have been in Sunswift for two years now, working in the renewable energy team. This year I am also the academic liaison for this team, meaning I handle a lot of the more technical issues that arise within the team of students and manage them with our academics. I work on everything to do with the solar system of the car, from the solar panels to the safety mechanisms in place designed to isolate all energy sources.

"Since I was involved from the initial design stages, I’ve seen the team of students work cohesively together to manufacture an entire car from the ground up – it is incredibly exciting!

"I have always loved challenging myself to discover how things work and why, which made engineering a natural choice. I chose renewable energy as I am passionate about using my skills to have a positive impact on society and the environment, and believe the future of energy needs to be as renewable as possible.

"As I am close to graduating university, what comes next will largely be passing on as much knowledge as I can to newer members of the team in order to set them up to keep this project moving.

Image: UNSW

"Next year, I have accepted a graduate engineering role with Snowy Hydro which is definitely my ideal career path. I am particularly interested in the control systems required to run and manage large-scale renewable energy assets."

2 Sahil Kumar Bachelor of Renewable Energy Engineering School of Photovoltaics and Renewable Energy Engineering, UNSW "When I first started with Sunswift, I worked on getting the most out of the car’s solar panels. Now, I have undertaken the role of energy systems lead engineer, responsible for overlooking tasks relating to electrical, mechanical and renewable energy engineers. This includes the establishment of deadlines, the creation of new tasks and leading the team as they begin their research for our next (top secret) vehicle!

"Project management is a difficult skill that requires many years of practice to master. Of all of the skills that I have obtained by working on Sunswift, leading a team has been by far the most rewarding. Learning how to understand people’s strengths, their weaknesses, their capacity to complete tasks on time and to foster a great team culture are skills that I will carry on to my future career.

"I have accepted a graduate position at GHD, which is a large company that works on a range of cool projects! Later on, I would like to work on building more electric vehicles, ideally for a major car company.

Image: UNSW

"My advice to students is to push yourselves to accomplish as much as you can outside of the classroom. Ultimately, classes will give you the foundational knowledge you need, but true learning (in my experience) occurs outside of the classroom. Join a project, start a society, try a business – the opportunities are endless!"

UNSW SYDNEY

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 9

TEACHER TOOLKIT

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

PART 1 What are ‘renewable’ energies?

Literacy The introductory activities in the student activities on the next page are designed to elicit what students already know about renewable energy, and engage with the broad ideas of the background article.

Ask students to initially read through the article then gather their ideas in the table.

PART 3 How is renewable energy used in Australia?

PART 2 What are the different types of renewable energies?

Personal and social capability In these activities, students identify renewable energy sources and suggest how renewable energy can be used to greater effect in the buildings they access in their day-to-day lives.

PART 4 What does a renewable energy engineer do?

Numeracy

Intercultural understanding

Students use the Ausgrid energy cost calculator to find out how much is spent on electrical devices.

Students discuss the responsibilities Australia’s Sun Cable and the Singapore Government will have when negotiating, constructing and running an underground ‘extension cord’ from Australia to Singapore.

ICT Students use an energy spreadsheet to examine the energy consumption of a variety of household appliances and keep a diary of their energy use.

Ethical thinking Students examine where responsibility lies for promoting renewables.

UNSW SYDNEY

Image: UNSW

General capabilities

Critical and creative thinking Thinking like a renewable energy engineer – students design the renewable energy infrastructure for a small island of about 20 homes that is powered by renewable energy only.

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 10

ACTIVITIES

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

Name:

Image: Shutterstock

Student activities Introductory questions

Literacy 1. What do you already know about renewable energy? Complete the following table to distinguish renewable energy sources from other sources of energy.

Examples of renewable energy sources

2. How do you use renewable energy in your everyday life?

3. Why is it so important to move to renewable sources of energy?

UNSW SYDNEY

Examples of non-renewable energy sources

4. What does the background article mean when it refers to a ‘net zero emissions economy’?

5. What is a distributed energy resource?

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 11

Personal and social capability Types of renewable energy 3. In what ways can you personally contribute to reducing our carbon footprint as you go about your everyday life?

Suggest at least three things you could change tomorrow.

Image: Shutterstock

1. How green is your house or school? Identify any sources of renewable energy you can find for the buildings you use in your everyday life. Examples could include solar panels on your house or school, or renewable energy sources used in electricity generation for the power used in these buildings.

Are there any design features that could help to save energy?

2. If you were to increase the amount of electricity generated by renewable sources, which of the seven types listed in the background article would you suggest are used and why?

Numeracy Energy cost calculator 1. Use the Ausgrid calculator to find out how much is spent on powering five electrical devices you can see around your home or school. Note, a mobile phone uses approximately 2 to 6 watts when charging, while a charger left plugged in without a phone will consume 0.1 to 0.5 of a watt. https://www.ausgrid.com.au/Your-energy-use/Energy-use-calculators/Small-appliance-calculators Device

Actual cost of running the device for a year ($)

Greenhouse carbon emissions if renewable energy sources are not used (kg CO2)

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

2. Are you surprised by the cost to run this device? Why or why not?

UNSW SYDNEY

ACTIVITIES

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 12

Image: Shutterstock

ACTIVITIES

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

ICT Spreadsheet energy diary 1. How much energy do you use per day in your house? Keep a spreadsheet as an energy diary for a day by: (a) Listing all the appliances you use such as lights, washing machine, fridge, heater/cooler, stove, hot water heater, etc. in column 1. Use the format below in an Excel spreadsheet. (b) Checking the electricity usage of each appliance in kilowatts per hour and add to column 2 (c) Estimate the total hours you used the appliance and add that to column 3 (d) Multiply the number of kilowatts on the device (2) by the hours you used it (3) to calculate the total kilowatt hours you used in a day (e) The table below has been started for you as an example.

1. Appliance

2. Kilowatts

2. Are you surprised by the amount of energy a person or household uses – why or why not?

3. Hours used

4. Total kilowatts used per week (Column 2 x Column 3)

4. What would the benefits of using 100% renewable energy be to the average householder? And to the planet?

3. Do you know what percentage of the energy your house uses is renewable? If so, how much? How does this compare with your school or friends' houses?

UNSW SYDNEY

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 13

Image: Shutterstock

ACTIVITIES

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

Ethical thinking Using renewable energy sources

1. Do you feel a responsibility to create and use renewable energy for the future benefits it will bring?

(c) Electrifying transport networks such as bikes, cars, ferries and buses?

(d) Developing more renewable energy sources in (a) small local communities, (b) the state you live in, and (c) the whole of Australia?

2. Who is responsible for: (a) Households and/or businesses generating their own electricity?

(a)

(b)

(b) Households and businesses feeding electricity made by renewables into the grid for others to use? (c)

UNSW SYDNEY

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 14

Image: UNSW

ACTIVITIES

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

Intercultural understanding Singaporean and Australian relations

In order to build a strong business partnership, Australia’s Sun Cable and the Singapore Government will have to consider each other’s needs as well as their own when considering how Australia might share some of its solar and wind energy with Singapore. For each stage of the process, think about some of the things each group will need to consider about the other.

Australia

Singapore

Planning and negotiations

Constructing the cable

Ongoing running of the cable

Critical and creative thinking Thinking like a renewable energy engineer Imagine you have to design the infrastructure for a small island with about 20 homes that is powered only by renewable energy. Read the article on Sunswift, p9, and think about the different roles you might need in running a renewable energy engineering project. Watch the videos on renewable energy in the background article, then decide which types of renewable energies you are going to use. Complete a map of your island to show where the renewable energy sources are going to be located and where the energy is going to be stored.

Could the infrastructure you have designed for your island be scaled up to service a larger community, such as a city?

What changes might you need to make?

UNSW SYDNEY

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 15

ACTIVITIES

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10

1. What did you learn about renewable energy?

Image: UNSW

Evaluation of learning 4. Would you consider being a renewable energy engineer?

Why or why not?

2. Have you changed your mind at all about renewable energy?

5. D o you have any further questions or thoughts about renewable energy?

3. What do you think are the current priorities for Australia in relation to increasing the use of renewable energy?

UNSW SYDNEY

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 16

Curriculum links

Physics Sustainability

Cross Curriculum Priority

Science as a Human Endeavour

Science Strands

Earth & Space

Year 7

Year 8

Some of Earth’s resources are renewable, including water that cycles through the environment, but others are non-renewable (ACSSU116)

Investigate and represent balanced and unbalanced forces, including gravitational force, acting on objects, and relate changes in an object’s motion to its mass and the magnitude and direction of forces acting on it (AC9S7U04)

Investigate how different types of energy are classified as kinetic or potential energy and represent energy transfer and in simple systems (AC9S8U04)

Year 9

Year 10

Investigate how key processes in the carbon cycle, including combustion, photosynthesis and respiration, rely on interactions between the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere (AC9S9U03)

Investigate how models of energy flow between the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere describe patterns of global climate change and predict future changes (AC9S10U04)

Investigate how wave and particle models describe energy transfer through different mediums and examine the usefulness of each model for explaining phenomena (AC9S9U04)

Investigate Newton’s laws of motion and quantitatively analyse the relationship between force, mass and acceleration of objects (AC9S10U05)

Investigate how new evidence or different perspectives can lead to changes in scientific knowledge (AC9S8H01)

Investigate how scientific knowledge is validated, including the role of publication and peer review (AC9S10H01)

Investigate how cultural perspectives and worldviews influence the development of scientific knowledge (AC9S8H02)

Investigate how scientific knowledge is validated, including the role of publication and peer review (AC9S10H01)

Investigate how proposed scientific responses to contemporary issues may impact on society and explore environmental, social and economic considerations (AC9S8H03)

Investigate how advances in technologies enable advances in science, and how science has contributed to developments in technologies and engineering (AC9S10H02) Investigate how the values and needs of society influence the focus of scientific research (AC9S10H04)

Systems: Earth’s energy is a closed system. It cannot be destroyed. Left alone, the Earth’s energy has been relatively stable for the past 800,000 years. The use of fossil fuels as an energy source has disrupted the system, releasing additional greenhouse gases which trap heat and lead to climate change.

Systems: When non-renewable resources, i.e. coal, gas and oil have been used up, the current energy supply system will have to be replaced.

World view: Human generation of greenhouse gases is the major contributor to the warming of the Earth. We work on solving this problem together.

Futures: We continue to develop ways of using renewable energy e.g. solar, wind, tide and geothermal. We understand how our choices in resource use impact on available resources in the future. We act to manage our own resource use and influence others.

World view: We can continue to supply the energy we need with new renewable systems.

Published by Refraction Media on behalf of the UNSW School of Photovoltaics & Renewable Energy Engineering Publisher: Karen Taylor-Brown Head of Content: Heather Catchpole Written by Heather Catchpole & Sally Parker Designed by Anne Pacey

For more information head to https://www.unsw.edu.au/engineering/our-schools/photovoltaic-and-renewable-energy-engineering

UNSW SYDNEY

RENEWABLE ENERGY

| 17

CURRICULUM LINKS

STUDENT FACT FILE YEARS 7–10