I.Introduction

a. What are traditional, alternative, renewable and non-renewable energy types?

i. Pre-course "Energy Savvy" Survey

b. Where does your energy come from?

i. Ice breaker activity – draw the socket back to the source. (Power Source activity)

II. Geology, Geography and Energy Resources

Goal: To better understand the interrelationship between geology and geography as it pertains to your states energy profile.

a. Geologic History of the Earth / Formation of Fossil Fuels

i. Where in geologic time are fossil fuels located?

ii. How does surface material become fuel?

iii. Types of fossil fuels (oil, gas, NPGL, oil-shale, tar sands coal bed methane)

b. State specific Geologic History

i. Your state's environment through time

ii. History, type and age of geologic formations

iii. Current geographic setting in relation to alternative energy sources (sun, wind, geothermal, hydro)

III. Energy Science

Goal: To understand the science that governs the flow of energy from resource to consumer.

a. Basic Energy Units

b. Energy Flow

i. EIA diagram where it comes from, where it goes

ii. For Residential, Industry, Transport what are sources, efficiencies, losses

1. How is electricity generated – power plant schematic

2. How are fuels used – internal combustion engine

iii. Earth Resources and Electricity

Depending your states uses and inventory may emphasize or eliminate various elements of this list.

1. Coal Fired Power Plant (~10³ MW)

a. Coal Mining, (Wy, WVa)

b. Types of coal grade, combustion products and environmental impacts

2. Natural Gas Fired Power Plants

a. Methane sources

3. Nuclear Power Generation (? MW)

a. Uranium Mining

b. Waste and Storage

4. Solar Power – (? KW)

a. Photovoltaic, Solar-Thermal

b. What raw materials are needed for a PV cell?

c. Efficiencies, cost and area covered

5. Geothermal Power (~10² MW)

a. Hot Rock and /or water as limiting resources

b. Heat pumps and natural geothermal gradient

6. Hydro Power (~10³ MW)

a. Waterwheels, Dams,

b. Impacts (destruction of community or historic sites, e.g. Aswan- Egypt, 3-Gorges-China, evaporation- Lake Powell)

7. Wind Power (~10² KW wind farm)

a. Efficiency proportional to velocity cubed

b. Locations, impacts (view shed, birds)

iv. Transportation / Fuel

1. Petroleum/Gas extraction and refining

2. BioFuels

v. Nationwide/Worldwide Production and Consumption of various fuel types

1. Fuel equivalencies in barrels of oil, BTUs or other measure

2. Have students perform quantitative comparisons

vi. Lab or Project Activity

1. Examples suggested include have the students build a windmill and test its energy output, compare PV, hydro and battery power in a bench-top lab.

IV. Your State's Energy Profile and Inventory

Goal: To assess your states inventory of energy resources

a. Is your state a net importer or exporter of energy?

b. What are the primary energy sources for your campus, city and region?

i. Where are they located? Use Google Earth to create maps or other geospatial products relative to end users.

ii. Field trip to local energy provider.

c. How much energy do you as an individual consume?

i. Activities such as "Kill-o-Watt" or "Lifestyle Project" to identify use and ways to conserve energy

d. Scale up that use to the campus, city and state.

i. Have students perform quantitative comparisons

V. Current Issues in your State or the Nation

Goal: To better understand your states specific social, political and economic issues surrounding traditional and alternative energy resources.

This area is very state-specific. Can incorporate case-study examples for comparison or group panel and discussion on current "hot button" issues. Examples from the collaborators include:

a. Natural Gas and the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania

b. Coal and Wind in Wyoming

c. Why isn't Nevada using Solar Energy More?

d. How long would ANWR resources last at current consumption rates?

• To better understand the interrelationship between geology and geography as it pertains to your states energy profile.
• To understand the science that governs the flow of energy from resource to consumer.
• To assess your states inventory of energy resources
• To better understand your states specific social, political and economic issues surrounding traditional and alternative energy resources.

The context of this course is flexible and features may include:

• google earth and GIS to explore distribution of state energy resources and their proximity to end users
• create project and/or lab-based energy science investigation
• case study comparisons
• statistical assessment of energy reserves, production and consumption
• carbon footprint comparison utilizing the Lifestyle project or future energy model and scaled to campus and/or state
• Instructional field trips to local energy providers (or virtual if local providers not available), or field trip to geologic site with energy relevance

This template afforded the opportunity to look for synergies among participants that will be teaching varying educational levels, at different institutions with different state resources. The expectation is that teachers will modify this course according to their needs. We plan to submit individual specific courses that will spin off from this template.

Homework and activities graded according to rubrik. Oral presentations, examinations, lab write ups.

Pre- and post course energy "savvy" survey, incorporating energy science, knowledge of local energy, and similar topics.

Energy Information Administration - Official Energy Statistics from the US Government

http://www.eia.gov/state/

States by Energy Source

http://tonto.eia.doe.gov/state/

States by Consumption, Price and Expenditure

http://www.eia.gov/state/seds/

State Renewable Electricity Profiles

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/solar.renewables/page/state_profiles/r_profiles_sum.html

NREL Renewable Energy Maps: Solar, Hydrogen, Wind, Geothermal, Biomass

http://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html

DSIRE – Database of State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency

http://www.dsireusa.org/

American Coal Foundation - Coal Reserves in the US

http://teachcoal.org/

EIA US Exploration Resources and Reserves Maps - Oil & Gas Fields, Coalbed Methane, Shale Gas

https://www.eia.gov/maps/maps.htm

EIA Uranium Reserves

http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/nuclear/page/reserves/ures.html

DOE Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Wind and Hydro - Installed Wind Capacity, Wind Resource Maps

https://www.energy.gov/science-innovation/energy-sources/renewable-energy/wind

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/windandhydro/about.html