SHE Task - Recycling Renewables (10%)
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ey to addressing the issue of climate change is a movement away from coal and gas, and a much stronger investment in renewable energy power projects, our town has been at the centre of this change. However these renewable energy projects have problems the are going to face in about 25 years’ time when they are decommissioned as although the energy they produce is renewable, the resources they use to generate that power are not. Having the ability to recycle, reclaim, repurpose and reuse the resources is key to ensure we can sustain this type of power generation long term. However as it currently stands, many of these renewable energy technologies can be difficult to reuse in this way, and this is the focus of this investigation.
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As a starting point for this investigation you may look at the article below which investigates the issue.
https://cen.acs.org/energy/renewables/Recycling-renewables/96/i15
Bomgardener, M and Scott, A (2018)
https://cen.acs.org/energy/renewables/Recycling-renewables/96/i15
Bomgardener, M and Scott, A (2018)
Science Inquiry Skills Tasks (30% - 3 Tasks, 10% each)
Testing of Sustainable Materials for Wind Turbine Blades
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ind turbines are an incredibly important part of our sustainable energy future. However at the end of their operating life, the blades are currently put into landfill as we cannot recycle them, this is likely to create a large waste problem.
Wood is actively being investigated as a possible replacement for fibreglass in the wind turbine blades, however there is a huge variety of the types of wood available and their properties. Materials testing is a branch of engineering that looks at isolating and testing different properties related to different materials. |
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In relation to wind turbine blades we are not necessarily looking at stretching or squashing the blades, given their length and the fact that the wind is pushing against them, flexural strength is a strong consideration for these blades. Many of the machines used to perform this analysis are very expensive however we are able to simulate such machines with relatively inexpensive materials and measurement devices coupled with some 3D printed parts that have be made available complements of the University of NSW.
Educational Resources Related to the Bungala Solar Farm
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he Bungala Solar Farm, which is owned and operated by Enel Green Power, was the first grid-scale solar project to be constructed in South Australia and remains to be one of Australia’s largest solar farms, consisting of 840 000 solar panels. Enel Green Power has more than 1300 renewable energy projects around the world with almost 65000 MW of installed capacity. Having partnered with the STEM Centre for a number of years they are clear in their desire to work with the communities that surround their installations, and are keen to get school groups to visit the farm to get a better understanding of solar power and how it all works.
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This task aims to produce educational resources that will help school students engage with renewable power generation and the technology at the Bungala Solar Farm. This may be in the form of posters, videos, presentations and interactive working prototypes of the key systems.
There are some images below that shows the work of previous students on this task
There are some images below that shows the work of previous students on this task
Wind Farm Siting
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South Australia is global leader when it comes to renewable power generation. For many years the majority of our electricity generation has come from renewable resources. By far the largest contributor to this has been wind power. In the Port Augusta region, we have had wind turbines installed at the Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park, and also at Lincoln Gap.
It is often a requirement of developers to commission studies into potential sites to collect data so that appropriate choices can be made about whether a project should proceed. Any choice should weigh up the potential positives and negatives of each site. |
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Some of the factors that investigated in in siting these farms include the following, all of which you will examine in this task
- Meteorological factors – Are the weather conditions appropriate and consistent enough?
- Geographical factors – is the land suitable for the construction of turbines? Are there any factors that will hinder their operation?
- Environmental factors – How will this development impact flora and fauna in the area?
- Economic factors – Will this be profitable for the company? How will economically impact the local community? How may this impact the current uses for that land?
- Human factors – What are people’s perceptions? How may the development be impacted by local, state or federal laws?