Europe's first solar power tower

A 115-metre tower surrounded by 624 mirrors has become Europe's newest source of renewable energy. The site in the southern Spanish town of Sanlucar la Mayor uses solar technology to generate 11MW of power which is enough to supply electricity to 6,000 homes.

The rings of huge mirrors reflect and focus the Sun’s power onto the tower where the heat is absorbed and produces steam to drive a generator to produce electricity.

Your students can learn more about solar energy and its advantages and disadvantages in the Energy sources section below:

11–14s: Energy sources

Help your students understand what is involved in building power schemes using solar energy in the activity below:

14–16s: Energy transformations

Energy loss monitored from the skies

Haringey Council in London has commissioned an aeroplane fitted with a thermal infrared sensor to ascertain levels of energy loss in the borough's properties. The aerial study will provide energy loss information about every one of the borough's buildings. Councillors hope that households found to be losing excessive amounts of energy will improve the energy-efficiency of their homes, thus reducing fuel bills and carbon emissions at the same time.

Encourage your students to think about how energy is used around the home with the following activities:

11–14s: Carbon emissions and you

14–16s: Electricity in your home

Verbal Tennis

Equipment: A coin
Numbers of students: Groups of two

Ask students in their pairs to face each other. One student tosses the coin and their partner calls to see who ‘serves’ first. The person who wins the coin toss ‘serves’ by saying a type of energy source, their partner then immediately gives a word that relates to the energy source, the server then gives another word and so on. The game continues until one of the students hesitates, repeats a word or gets stuck and if this happens their partner gets a point. The points are the same as in tennis and the games won will show who knows the most about energy sources.

Energy brainstorm

In small groups of three or four, students can spend five minutes brainstorming ways they can reduce energy consumption in the home. After the five minutes are up, discuss the groups' suggestions as a class.

Work with your students to find out why it is important to reduce energy consumption in the activity below:

11–14s: Consequences of the greenhouse effect

Ask your students to think about the amount of energy used in a household in a day in the activity below:

14–16s: Current energy use

England

Schools will receive finalised documents about climate change for Key Stage 3 geography from September this year for planning purposes and this will be implemented in September 2008.

Scotland

For science A Curriculum for Excellence will include programmes of study for (amongst other links to the planet) “Planet Earth – Sustainability and Biodiversity”.

Wales

In Wales the emphasis in the curriculum on thinking skills is intended to help pupils learn the necessary skills to cope in an ‘increasingly technological driven world’.

Did you know that...?

• If 10% of the UK’s energy in 2010 were to come from renewable resources, carbon emissions could be cut by 2.5 million tonnes a year.
• Wind-generated waves on the surface of the world's oceans have a total (estimated) power of 90 million gigawatts.
• European consumption of plant-based fuels is expected to increase tenfold to more than 30 million tonnes by 2010.