User:Toddims

Efficiency In Alternative Energy

At our school students have one day a week (every Wednesday) to carry out a specific project that we are passionate about and that will have a positive Impact on the community. The project that we have decided to carry out is researching and exploring the possibility of improving the efficiency of alternate energy generation methods, specifically to do with Wind energy.

Wind

Proposal

Team Members

Francois Marais

Todd Jones

Impact Project Mentor

Di Hartley

Jonathan Ridell

Duncan Annandale

Laslie Gorvatt

Rick (Independent Power)

Focussing your Inquiry

By the end of the first 12 Weeks of our project we want to have developed a relationship with a mentor for each of our main focuses. We also want to have a working miniature of an actual Wind turbine, Photovoltaic cell and/or Tidal turbine that we are able to take apart and add parts to, eventually aiming to make a change that will make it more efficient at producing energy than currently used technologies.

How do you know your project is meaningful?

We will know that our project has made a difference to the community when we have got hold of a working turbine that we are able to explore and discover its inner workings, with this knowledge we can go on to build our own and aim to have a very efficient prototype by the end of the year.

What will we learn?

Curriculum Area: Business Studies

Achievement Objective: To procure a wind turbine

List what you will learn: We will learn to communicate clearly and effectivly to a member/s of the business community in the hope of having a (donation or the like) of a working prototype to dismantle and explore

Curriculum Area: Science/Technology
Achievement Objective: To learn the inner working of a specific electricity generation method

List what you will learn: How this technology is built and why it works how it works, then making changes to it to increase its efficiency.
How will you know how successful your project has been?

Our project will be successful if we are able to learn the inner workings of a specific electricity generation technology. We will know this when we can talk about the specific components and their jobs in detail and explain how and why they work to others.

What resources will you need?

Human Resources: We need to contact Dr Dave Lowe from Lowe NZ Ltd and Victoria University, Antarctic Reseach Centre. He was one of the speakers at a workshop organised by team solutions on the 25th of may at NH stadium that Toni and Di attended. His company advises home owners on how to make their hmes sustainable in terms of using alternative energy (solar, wind, water) We will also contact a power company and there is the possibility that we can get a grant, or some help with our project from them.

Financial: We will know if we need a buget once we have spoken to the power companies and our contact in Wellington

Upskilling: We have not planned to attend any specific courses as we think that our mentors/experts will be able to help us solve most of our issues
Approval of projects

You will be able to present your proposal to your cluster group, mentor and leaders. Based on this as well as the completion of your proposal view a decision will be made whether the project should continue in its present form. The decision will be made by the Impact Project Committee in consultation with your mentor, and you will be notified of the outcome.