Windmill+Module+Content+Area

=Windmill Module Content Activity for Library Media/Technology Specialists and Social Studies Teachers=

One of the biggest barriers to the use of wind energy is the lack of detailed information about the wind conditions in an area. The performance and economics of wind energy systems are very sensitive to the magnitude and variability of the wind resource, which by nature is highly site specific. A site's wind conditions are influenced by regional weather patterns as well as many other factors, including the elevation of the site relative to surrounding lands, the shape and orientation of the terrain, the vegetative cover, the size and proximity of local buildings and other obstacles, and the nearness to shorelines. Good wind areas cover nearly 6% of the U.S.

As you take the steps below, make sure and keep in mind these factors: • Wind speed – wind turbines start to work when the wind speed reaches 5 m/s. • Ornithology – there is a lot of debate about the effect of wind turbines on bird populations • Ecology – consider proximity to local nature reserves, national parks, monuments, sites of special areas of conservation or of scientific interest • Noise – the noise of wind turbines may be quite bothersome to nearby residents • Shadow flicker – nearby residents may be bothered by the shadows flickering when the blades rotate • Access to a highway – you will need good access to the site for construction and maintenance purposes • Aeronautical and military impacts – wind turbines can have an impact on aviation activities, typically on radar systems or on low flying exercises • Landscape and visual impacts – this is always of great concern to the residents of the area

In addition to the resources listed in the steps below, you can also search using the customized search engine that was set up just for this workshop: http://www.google.com/coop/cse?cx=016463801625478529322:0wwczgn6llu (Create Custom Search Handout from Google: or http://google.com/librariancenter/downloads/Custom_Search_85x11.pdf)

Use the United States Renewable Resources Atlas at http://mapserve2.nrel.gov/website/Resource_Atlas/viewer.htm to determine a rural area that is rated Superb or Excellent for wind resources.

Use the reference resources on FactMonster ([|http://factmonster.com)] to gather specific information about the site you have chosen.

Use this map: http://www.nationalgeographic.com/wildworld/terrestrial.html?detail=undefined&size=large&id=1&cMinx=-180&cMaxx=180&cMiny=-90&cMaxy=90 from National Geographic to collect facts about the ecosystem of the rural area you have chosen. Open Google Earth (free download at [|http://googleearth.com)] and locate your chosen site. Use the “roads” and “3D buildings” layers to determine whether there is adequate road access. Measure the distance from where you want to put your wind farm to the nearest dwellings. Create a Plackmark on the site you are choosing. Create an annotation for your placemark explaining why this is the best location. Incorporate the information from this activity into your team’s presentation.

Resources Used for Development

Links: http://www.google.com/educators/start_earth.html Google Earth Getting Started Guide http://sketchup.google.com/product/gsu.html Google SketchUp Getting Started Guide http://earth.google.com/outreach/program_details.html Grant Application for Google Earth Pro Google Lit Trips http://www.googlelittrips.org/ Global Volcanism Project http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/globallists.cfm?listpage=googleearth Juicy Geography Lessons http://www.juicygeography.co.uk/blog/?page_id=7 Google Earth Outreach Lessons http://earth.google.com/outreach/showcase.html Indian Ocean Tsunami Math Activity http://earth.google.com/outreach/showcase.html Jane Goodall Institute Chimpanzee Lesson http://www.janegoodall.org/gombe-chimp-blog/ Biology Activity http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2008/02/putting-google-earth-to-test.html Google Tools Classroom Posters http://www.google.com/educators/posters.html Interactive Google Search Guide http://www.googleguide.com/