Grade Level: Middle School | Duration: 50 minutes

This comprehensive session explores renewable energy sources, sustainable urban design, and building science principles while connecting these concepts to Alabama’s energy landscape. Students learn the science behind solar, wind, hydropower, biomass, and geothermal energy, examine Birmingham’s sustainability scorecard, calculate their ecological footprint, and discover how cities can reduce energy burden through smart design and weatherization. The session culminates in a hands-on solar-powered car building activity that demonstrates renewable energy principles in action.

Learning Objectives

Students will distinguish between renewable and nonrenewable energy sources and their emission profiles. They will explain how each major renewable technology works (solar PV, wind turbines, hydroelectric dams, biomass combustion, geothermal steam). Students will analyze the limitations and benefits of each renewable source, understand how energy burden disproportionately affects low-income communities, identify sustainable city planning principles including LEED certification, and recognize job growth opportunities in Alabama’s emerging clean energy sector.

Key Topics Covered

Renewable vs. Nonrenewable Energy

• Nonrenewable sources (coal, oil, gas) will run out within our lifetime and produce high carbon emissions
• Renewable sources (sunlight, wind, water) replenish faster than consumed with significantly lower emissions
• Common misconception: Nuclear energy appears renewable due to zero emissions but requires finite uranium

Solar Energy Technology

• Photovoltaic (PV) panels knock electrons loose when sunlight hits cells, generating electricity through electron flow
• Active solar systems use mechanical/electrical equipment to collect and store captured energy
• Passive solar systems absorb heat directly without equipment but cannot collect or store energy
• Alabama ranks 13th nationally for solar potential but only 29th in installed capacity
• Solar provides only 0.69% of Alabama’s electricity despite 43% price decline over last decade
• Alabama’s grid connection fee ($5.41 per kW monthly) discourages residential solar adoption
• Alabama Power approved 480% increase in renewable capacity (from 500MW in 2015)
• Limitations: Very high capital costs, requires large land areas, duck curve problem (peak production doesn’t match peak demand)

Wind Power Generation

• Turbines convert kinetic energy of moving air into electricity—higher wind speeds generate more power
• Concentrated in U.S. Great Plains; minimal current potential in Alabama except northeast corner
• Pros: Huge energy potential, low waste, cost efficient
• Limitations: Noise and visual pollution, wildlife harm (birds and bats), location-dependent, unpredictable weather patterns

Hydropower Systems

• Dams alter natural water flow; kinetic energy of downstream flow spins turbines generating electricity
• Tidal energy uses similar principles with tidal flow patterns
• Alabama’s 23 hydroelectric dams provide 9% of state’s energy—first completed in 1914 (Lay Dam on Coosa River)
• Historical impact: 36 aquatic species eradicated from Coosa River during 20th-century dam construction boom
• Alabama and Gulf Sturgeon severely impacted; Alabama sturgeon now one of rarest fish on Earth
• Pros: Low pollution, low operational costs, very low failure rates
• Limitations: Limited suitable locations, high capital costs, habitat alteration, drought vulnerability with climate change

Biomass Energy

• Renewable organic material from plants and animals burned for heat or converted to liquid fuel
• Sources include wood processing waste, crop waste, municipal solid waste, animal manure, human sewage
• Enviva’s Sumter County facility will be world’s largest wood pellet plant—100 direct jobs, 250 indirect jobs
• Black Belt region relies heavily on biomass energy production
• Limitations: Carbon emissions and air pollution vary by fuel source, requires large capital and land investment, tree harvesting risks deforestation

Geothermal Energy

• Heat stored in Earth’s interior heats water, brought to surface as steam to rotate turbines
• Three types of power plants: Dry Steam (like Yellowstone), Flash Steam (360°F+ water), Binary Stream (225-360°F operation)
• Pros: Weather-independent, mostly below-surface operation, low maintenance
• Limitations: Expensive capital costs, very location-dependent, drilling may release hydrogen sulfide (poisonous gas)
• Best potential in western U.S.; limited viability in South and East

Sustainable Cities & Energy Burden

Ecological Footprint Analysis

• Biocapacity measures ecosystem capacity to regenerate demanded natural resources
• Multiple “Earths” required means current lifestyle unsustainable if adopted globally
• U.S./North American footprint significantly exceeds biocapacity; approaching global limits as technology spreads

Energy Burden in Alabama

• Defined as when household energy bill exceeds 6% of annual income
• Tuscaloosa: 9.3% average energy burden
• Wilcox County: Residents pay up to 58% of annual income on energy
• Southern states face higher consumption due to cooling needs in hot, humid climate
• Weatherization can save households nearly $300 annually through improved sealing and insulation

Birmingham Sustainability Scorecard

• Ranked 86 out of 100 major U.S. cities by American Council for Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE)
• Overall score: 10/100—significantly below peer city median across all categories
• Lowest performance: Energy and water utilities, community-wide initiatives
• Improvement opportunities: Public transportation expansion, building energy code compliance, EV charging infrastructure

LEED Certification & Building Sciences

• Alabama adopted one of the nation’s most stringent energy codes—only 9 other states have equivalent or higher requirements
• LEED categories: Sustainable sites, location/transport, energy/atmosphere, materials/resources, indoor quality, water efficiency
• Four certification levels allow incremental implementation based on sustainable features included
• UAB University Hall features: Glazed components sized by sun orientation, energy recovery ventilator, reflective light-colored roofing, drought-tolerant landscaping, low-flow faucets

Sustainable Site Design Principles

• Combat urban heat island effect where dark surfaces absorb and trap heat compared to reflective surroundings
• Green roofs (deep with parks/trees or shallow with grasses/shrubs) reduce heat absorption and provide habitat
• Habitat corridors maintain animal population connectivity across urban areas
• Urban growth boundaries (natural or man-made) reduce sprawl, keep resources efficient, mandate green space
• WHO recommends cities prioritize green space for area health and citizen wellbeing
• Cities should target at least 50% green space coverage

Materials, Resources & Waste Management

• Adaptive reuse repurposes existing buildings rather than demolition and new construction
• Using recycled scrap wood, metal, and materials reduces extraction energy requirements
• Circular economy model prioritizes collection, sorting, recycling, and repair over linear extract-use-dispose model
• Alabamians generate over 6.5 lbs waste per person daily

Clean Energy Transition & Jobs

Renewable Energy Industry Growth

• Projected to account for more than half of global electricity production by 2035
• Inflation Reduction Act creates 550,000 new jobs, $300 billion in wages/benefits, $600 billion in capital investments
• Alabama: 1,100 new clean energy jobs in communities of color since August 2022
• $1.2 billion in clean energy investments in Alabama’s communities of color
• Congressional district AL-4 (includes northern Tuscaloosa County) received majority of investment
• New facilities: Hyundai Mobis (Montgomery), FirstSolar photovoltaic manufacturing (Lawrence County), Mercedes-Benz battery plant expansion (Bibb County)
• Majority of new jobs located in communities of color

Electric Vehicles in Alabama

• Alabama ranks 4th nationally in auto exports—vehicles are state’s #1 export product
• Production capacity: 1.3 million vehicles annually
• EV market share: Only 2.5% despite 61% sales jump in 2021
• State grants target charging infrastructure on well-traveled highways away from interstates
• All major Alabama auto manufacturers ramping up EV production plans

Interactive Activity: Solar-Powered Car Build

Students work in teams to construct functional solar-powered cars, demonstrating photovoltaic principles and renewable energy engineering. The hands-on activity reinforces lesson concepts about energy conversion, sustainable technology, and clean transportation solutions while developing problem-solving and teamwork skills.

Mytopia Web Game

Students use the interactive Mytopia game to design sustainable cities based on Tuscaloosa’s characteristics. They make decisions about energy sources, transportation, green space, and urban planning while observing how choices impact sustainability metrics, energy burden, and environmental footprint. The game reinforces lesson concepts by allowing students to apply LEED principles, renewable energy knowledge, and urban design strategies in a simulated environment.

This session emphasizes that no energy source is perfect—each has pros and cons. The key is finding balance to meet customer needs while prioritizing affordability, reliability, and environmental health. Creating a sustainable grid requires diverse clean energy sources, reduced energy burden through efficiency and weatherization, and systemic changes like renewable energy investment and efficiency program funding.