This course is an outgrowth of the “The Big Picture” which identified major components of energy education needed by secondary students. The Foundations of Energy course was developed as an introductory course in Career and Technical Education for grades nine or ten. Content material is organized by units/modules and may be structured as a stand-alone course (semester/year) or may be integrated in other career pathways such as engineering/technology, construction, and manufacturing technology. It also could be utilized in conjunction with the science curriculum.
Foundations of Energy Overview
Foundations of Energy is a course in career and technical education for secondary students. The course provides an overview of renewable and nonrenewable energy resources reflecting how energy impacts the environment and the economy from regional, state, national and global perspectives. Extensive hands-on laboratory activities are vital components of the curriculum. This course can provide a basis for students working toward various career pathways in energy such as Engineering/Technology, Construction and Manufacturing Technology.
Course Unit Descriptions
Biomass
This unit provides an overview of biomass and biofuels as sources of energy and how waste can be transformed into energy.
Building Management & Conservation
This unit focuses on the building management, conservation management and audits of the building envelope and construction materials.
Coal
This unit will focus on the energy of coal including the geology, excavation, distribution and various uses.
Emerging and New Technologies
This unit focuses on Emerging and New Technologies of the energy industry. Students will investigate the newest energy resources and technology being used by the industry and will review and expand knowledge of current available energy resources.
Energy Policies
Discuss present energy strategies for Kentucky and relate them to the US Energy Policy. Look at global issues economically, politically, and environmentally.
Geothermal
This unit focuses on the role of Geothermal Energy in production of electricity, its impact on the state’s and nation’s energy portfolios including geothermal residential and commercial applications.
Hydropower
This unit focuses on hydroelectric power. Students will expand their knowledge of hydroelectric power by studying trends in streams, rivers, tidal, ocean currents technology.
Natural Gas
This unit provides an overview of the energy source natural gas and how it is impacted by geology, methods of extraction, storage, transportation, combustion.
Nuclear
In this unit topics of discussion will focus on the application of mining, milling, processing of Uranium fuel and will include atomic structure, nuclear fission, forms of radiation, decay, protection, uses, advantages and disadvantages of nuclear energy.
Petroleum
In this unit, students will investigate the geology, methods of extraction, processing and uses of petroleum in our world around us.
Propane
The unit will focus on research and discuss the production, processing, storage, transportation and uses of propane.
Solar
This unit will provide an overview of the solar industry including solar power: passive solar, active solar, solar photo-voltaic and solar thermal.
Wind
This unit will focus on defining wind energy, where it originates and what we can do with it. Students will also explore how we have used wind energy in the past, how we use it now and how it may be used in the future.