Teaching sequence

Work through this resource material in the following sequence:

10 minutes

Tune In: Creating sustainable and resilient communities

15 minutes

Find Out: How is Queensland going to do it?

25 minutes

Take Action: Renewable energy project and careers report

5 minutes

Reflection

Learning intentions and success criteria

Students will:

learn about various renewable energy projects in Queensland and their impacts
understand the clean energy goals set by the Queensland government
understand ethical and sustainability factors relating to renewable energy projects and the professions in this sector
find out about the diversity of jobs in renewable energy projects.

Students can:

outline some of the different renewable energy projects in Queensland
describe some of the impacts of renewable energy projects in Queensland
identify ethical and sustainability factors that are considered a part of renewable energy projects
report on some of the job opportunities that exist in the renewable energy sector of Queensland.

Tune In: Creating sustainable and resilient communities

Step 1

Begin a class discussion by asking students to imagine a place where communities:

are sustainable and resilient
protect the environment
boost local economies
are prosperous.

Ask prompting questions along the lines of:

What does this mean?
What would it look like?
What would this place have?
How would it exist?
What needs to be done to achieve this?

Discuss these questions for a few minutes, guiding the discussion towards sustainability and renewables. Segue to the fact that Queensland has a number of targets it wants to meet around renewable energy, and explain that the Queensland government has set itself the goal of meeting several targets by the time it hosts the Summer Olympics in 2032.

Outline that renewable energy projects are part of creating a sustainable, resilient, reliable and affordable power supply for Queensland, and inform students of the following target:

By 2030, 50% of Queensland's electricity generation will be sourced from renewables, 70% by 2032 and 80% by 2035. (Source: Queensland Government Department of Energy and Climate)

Step 2

Watch the following video up to the 2.24-minute mark and ask students to identify the renewable energy projects planned for Queensland:

Queensland's $62 billion clean energy plan is 'world leading', says Annastacia Palaszczuk | 7.30 - ABC News (Australia) - (https://youtu.be/3ZlYz2ZTPrY?si=UQ5XMcFlhq14CtIw)

Suggested answers:

Pumped hydro-scheme: 2 pumped hydro projects
Super-grid: solar and wind farms, electrolysers, hydrogen and batteries
Transition coal-fired power stations into clean energy hubs.

Step 3

Invite students to predict:

how these renewable energy projects will help to create communities that are sustainable and resilient, protect the environment, boost local economies, and are prosperous
the kind of jobs that might be required for these projects to be designed, planned, constructed, run, managed and maintained.

Find Out: How is Queensland going to do it?

Step 1

Play the following video as an example that highlights the role of renewable energy in supporting Queensland to become a sustainable,resilient and ‘climate positive’ place:

Zero City Explorers Discover Brisbane | Volvo Buses -(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X1jQz8PbJMc)

Step 2

Invite students to turn to the person sitting next to them and discuss their understanding of ‘ethical’ and ‘sustainable’. Encourage them to draw on what they learnt in the video. Ask pairs to then write a 1-sentence definition or explanation for each of these words. Write a table with columns on the whiteboard, each with the heading ‘ethical’ and ‘sustainable’, and record the keywords and common themes amongst students’ responses.

Ethical	Sustainable
Suggested answers: Being honest and fair, respecting others, recognising impacts and taking responsibility and actions for these	Suggested answers: Minimising environmental impacts and carbon emissions, being resourceful, ensuring what society does today has an overall positive economic impact, improving quality of life for people now and future generations

Step 3

Ask the class to recall the energy projects they identified in the video at the start of the lesson. Pose the question to the class – how can these projects be ethical and sustainable? What do we mean by this?

Point out that although these projects are designed to provide low-emission, clean energy, it’s also important that it’s done in ethical and sustainable ways. Guide the students to discuss with their partners how they think ethics and sustainability might relate to these renewable energy projects. What needs to be considered and incorporated into the design, planning, construction, running and maintenance of these projects?

Add pairs’ responses to the table on the whiteboard.

Suggest answers:

Ethical considerations: ensuring and maintaining accessibility to amenities, quality of life and affordable power, community engagement about land and resource use, impacts on cultural heritage, employment terms and conditions, and transparency about the impacts projects will have (whether positive or negative, or long-term or short-term).
Sustainability considerations: eco-friendly and architectural designs that protect natural habitat, efficient use of resources to reduce waste and energy consumption, long-term planning to meet present and future energy demands/needs, climate change resilience, careful use of resources, enhancing community wellbeing and ensuring positive and long-term economic goals.

Take Action: Renewable energy and jobs report

Step 1

Explain to students that they will now work in small groups to choose and research a renewable energy project and the career opportunities in that sector. The broad categories of these projects are:

wind
solar
hydropower
transmission

The information they need to find and report on includes:

the facts about the project (who, what, where, why, how)
the positive impacts the project has/will have on the environment, local community and the economy
2 different jobs that are involved in the project and their responsibilities
the ethical and sustainability roles, responsibilities and strategies that are part of these jobs.

Extension opportunity: Students requiring extension could also research and suggest specific examples of how people working in the roles they are focusing on manage and address ethical or sustainability challenges. Students could include a short scenario in their reports to explain their ideas. For example, students could create a scenario around an endangered species on the site their role is based on and suggest the kinds of actions their specific role would be required to take to manage threats to this species.

Step 2

Divide the class into small groups and distribute the Student Worksheet. Point them to the following links on their worksheet to guide their research.

If your students don’t have access to YouTube on their student devices, encourage them to use the webpage links and/or conduct their own research.

Renewable energy type	Projects
Wind	How much have #windturbines changed over the years? Energising Queensland - ACCIONA Energía \| Alice Wambo Wind Farm \| Working with our community MacIntyre Wind Precinct Project Update August 2023
Solar	Western Downs Green Power Hub – Local Employment Aldoga Solar Farm, Australia \| ACCIONA Energía Solar and wind energy - CS Energy (https://www.csenergy.com.au/what-we-do/renewable-energy/solar-and-wind-energy)
Hydropower	How pumped storage hydropower is unlocking broader renewable energy developments Energising Queensland - Genex Power \| KyleKidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project - Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (https://www.naif.gov.au/our-projects/genex-kidston-pumped-hydro-storage-project/#:~:text=The%20Kidston%20Project%20is%20the,Kidston%20site%20to%20Mt%20Fox)
Transmission	Powerlink's Queensland transmission network Kaban drone stringing Our Infrastructure - Powerlink Queensland (https://www.powerlink.com.au/our-infrastructure)

Step 3

Allow students a few minutes to skim through the resources and choose a project they would like to research. Strongly encourage groups to select an energy source they are interested in, whether because of their subject interests, the project location or design, related career opportunities or curiosity about the renewable energy type.

Step 4

Provide students access to the Future Energy Jobs Guide, Careers for Net Zero and Queenslanders behind our renewable energy transformation to help them find jobs associated with their renewable energy type and project. Model to students how to look through the categories or direct students to type in the project,renewable energy type, and job role in Google to find further information.

Step 5

Ask students to complete their report template on their Student Worksheet. Monitor and support their research. If time allows, ask groups to present their findings to other groups or the class. You could invite your school’s Careers Counsellor to be part of the audience and provide students with the opportunity to ask them for further information about subjects to study and further education pathways.

Reflection

As an exit ticket, invite students to identify a strength each job role might require and ask them to put their hands up if they think they have that strength and why.

Queensland’s Clean Energy Vision: Projects and Professions

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Lesson Guides and Printables

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Queensland’s Clean Energy Vision: Projects and Professions

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Summary

Lesson Guides and Printables

In this lesson