There is a large array of solar panels on the ski mountain about ten miles down the road from where I live. Their goal is to use as much renewable energy as possible. To that end, another solar array is being built about a mile down the road. I noticed progress earlier this week when I overcame it. It made me think about how many solar panels I would need and it prompted me to look in my archives for some resources to learn how to generate electricity. Here are a few I picked.
How do solar panels work? A TED-Ed tutorial that covers the basics of what solar panels are made of and how electricity is generated from them. The video also sinks into some of the political and social hurdles of solar panel installation and solar array development.
How do wind turbines work? A TED-ED tutorial that covers the basics of how wind turbines use wind energy to generate electricity. The basic math of wind turbine design is also explained to the viewers of the video. Overall, this is a nice lesson but not the most detailed of the lessons.
Energy Now News is a YouTube channel featuring energy videos and educational videos on electricity. Energy 101: Includes the process of generating electricity through power generation and delivering it to homes and businesses.
Idaho Power offers a brief video overview of how hydroelectric dams generate electricity and the process of getting that electricity from a dam to a home. Before you show this video to your students, it may be helpful to point out who made it and why they made it.
