PV panels at Tirimoana Primary

SCHOOLGEN INSTALLATIONS FOR THE FIRST PHASE OF THE PROGRAMME ARE NOW COMPLETE! Westlake Girls High School, Northcote College, Greenhithe Primary, Tirimoana Primary, Pakuranga College and Silverdale Primary are all generating electricity from the energy of the sun from the 2 kilowatt (kW) photovoltaic (PV) systems that have been installed on the roof of each school. Having panels on the roof of the school is just the start of the Schoolgen programme. Students and teachers have access to online resources at www.schoolgen.co.nz that have been designed to support classroom learning about renewable energy and climate change.

Schoolgen has been designed to save the school a portion of their energy costs, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and raise awareness of renewable energy and climate change with students, teachers and the wider school community.

Generation data from the PV panels is presented to students in a fun, interactive way on an LCD screen that is displayed in a prominent area of the school on a purpose-built Schoolgen wall. The website displays generation data from all of the six schools in an easy to read graph format, so students can go online to compare the output of their school's system with that of the other schools. Students can find out how much CO₂ their school has saved by generating electricity from the purely sustainable energy source of the sun.

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Display wall at Tirimoana Primary

GENESIS ENERGY HAS BEEN BUSY OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF MONTHS PLANNING THE FUTURE ROLLOUT OF SCHOOLGEN. It is the company's intention to assist five schools a year for the next three years to install a 2kW photovoltaic system with the generation data from these schools also being profiled on the Schoolgen website.

This will bring the total number of schools to have a PV system installed through Schoolgen to 21. If each of the PV systems saves a forecasted 80 tonnes of CO₂ over the projected 35-year lifetime of the panels, Schoolgen would have saved approximately 1,680 tonnes of CO₂ based on emissions factor of 625 tonnes CO₂/GWh.

Schoolgen is not limited to schools which have panels installed - every school in New Zealand is able to participate in Schoolgen by using the teaching activities available on the Schoolgen website. These activities and the electricity generation data from the participating schools can be incorporated into lessons by any schools across the country.

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Schoolgen Workshop 25 May 2007

A SCHOOLGEN WORKSHOP FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS FROM THE SIX PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS WAS ORGANISED BY GENESIS ENERGY AND THE ENVIROSCHOOLS FOUNDATION ON 25 JUNE 2007. The purpose of the workshop was to show teachers and students the opportunities for learning and fun through the Schoolgen programme. Teachers and students were engaged in working through a number of the Schoolgen teaching activities that are available on the Schoolgen website.

The day was a fantastic success with both teachers and students (and the organisers!) learning about PV technology, climate change, how electricity is generated and what happens when the power goes out (as it did!). Thank you to Westlake Girls High School for hosting the event.

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Schoolgen website screenshot

THE SCHOOLGEN WEBSITE CAPTURES AND DISPLAYS THE ELECTRICITY GENERATION DATA FROM THE PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS FOR SCHOOLS ANYWHERE TO BE ABLE TO USE IN THEIR CLASSROOMS. For example the activity "Schoolgen data and what does it tell us" encourages students to learn about the data from the solar panels and how weather changes the data. Students are encouraged to keep a weather journal over a chosen period of time. The observations can then be used to understand how weather affects the amount of electricity that the panels generate.

The electricity generation data can also be downloaded in an excel spreadsheet for further manipulation in the classroom.

Schoolgen is not limited to schools which have panels installed - every school in New Zealand is able to participate in Schoolgen by using the teaching activities available on the Schoolgen website. These activities and the electricity generation data from the participating schools can be incorporated into lessons by any schools across the country.

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Students wearing Schoolgen Tees and Caps

WE WANTED TO BRING SCHOOLGEN TO LIFE IN ANOTHER WAY IN THE SCHOOL COMMUNITIES TAKING PART IN THE PROGRAMME, SO WE DESIGNED T-SHIRTS AND CAPS FOR STUDENTS AND TEACHERS AND GOT A FANTASTIC RESPONSE! The t-shirts and caps both feature the Schoolgen logo and they were designed to get people talking about the project. Not only do they look great, they're environmentally sustainable as they're produced from a production process based on the selection of raw materials and clean technology. We've had great feedback from students and teachers about the designs... watch this space for additions to the range!

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GENESIS ENERGY HAS DEVELOPED AN EDUCATIONAL ONLINE GAME DESIGNED TO GIVE PEOPLE A TASTE OF THE BALANCING ACT THAT GOES INTO RUNNING A SUCCESSFUL YET SUSTAINABLE CITY. Players have to make choices about energy generation, tourism ventures and tax rates (to name a few), all of which have pronounced effects on the happiness of the town's population and on its balance sheet at the end of the game.

ElectroCity was launched to schools in New Zealand and is aimed at year 7 - 9 students. Like Schoolgen, it is accompanied by a suite of educational resources that are available on the game's website. The resources have been designed to support students' learning about electricity generation and renewable energy. As well as being an interesting and engaging game, it is a catalyst for school children to learn about climate change, different types of energy generation and the importance of sustainability.

The game is not limited to school-aged children - people of all ages from all around the world (as far afield as Poland and Hong Kong!) are playing it, with 55,000 daily visitor sessions on the ElectroCity site. To see how well you go managing your very own city, visit www.electrocity.co.nz, give your town a name and declare yourself Mayor!

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