1. Wind Power Challenge

2. How does it work?  Energy 101 – Wind Turbines Energy 101 – Wind Turbines

3. Wind Power: Advantages  It’s a clean fuel source – no emissions  It’s domestic – no reliance on other countries  It’s renewable – can’t be used up because wind is driven by the sun  It’s cheap – 4 to 6 cents per kilowatt hour

4. Wind Power: Challenges  Initial investment is expensive  Good wind sites are often remote – transmission lines are long  Has to compete with other uses for land that might be more highly valued  Environmental impacts: noise, visual/aesthetic, birds occasionally fly into rotors…  Facts from http://www1.eere.energy.gov/wind/wind_basics.htmlhttp://www1.eere.energy.gov/wind/wind_basics.html

5. Designs  There are many viable wind turbine designs – developers are always looking for one that is slightly more efficient

17. Your Task:  Design and build a set of blades attached to a rotor that will convert the most wind power to electricity

18. Materials:  Cork (2 per group)  Skewers (4-5)  Masking Tape  Toothpicks (5-10)  Construction paper  Plastic wrap  Aluminum foil  Legos (tower building)  DC Motor (1 per group)  Amp Meter (1 per class)  Glue sticks

19. Requirements:  Tower, propeller and rotor must be able to spin freely for 30 seconds when placed in front of fan.  It must be made from class materials

20. Winner:  The team who builds the turbine that generates the most electricity (as determined by highest reading) when attached to the amp meter in a 30 second period wins.