Where is the Best Place to Locate a New Solar Power Plant?
Students will continue to use My World GIS or Web GIS to analyze annual average sunshine data to determine good locations for solar plants. Students will investigate sunshine patterns at locations of existing and proposed solar power plants. Students will analyze "newly planned" solar power plant locations in 2009 and will determine optimal locations to build new very large solar power plants.
Note: This instructional sequence focuses primarily on teaching with My World GIS. Please consult the Where is the Best Place to Locate a New Solar Power Plant? Teacher Guide Web GIS handout below for instructional support for teaching with the Energy Investigations Web GIS.
Video overviews of the learning activity are located below in the Teacher Resources/Content Support section of this Web page. These overviews show how to use the GIS for data analysis in the investigation. You may wish to show your students an overview video as you introduce the learning activity.
1. Ask students to respond to the following question in their journal: How would you determine the best place to locate a new solar power plant?
2. Inform students that they will use My World GIS to analyze sunshine data and determine the best place to locate a new solar power plant.
3. Give the Where is the Best Place to Locate a New Solar Power Plant? handouts and investigation sheets back to the students.
4. Use an LCD projector to display My World at the front of the room.
5. Have students access their saved my_world_solar.m3vz file from the previous day. If the file does not load properly, have students download it again from the student resources page. (Note: Hopefully, your students will not have played around with the layers too much, thus, changing the map display).
6. Have students open the my_world_solar.m3vz file in My World GIS. If needed, model step-by-step instructions for using Zoom In Tool, Zoom Out Tool, Pointer Tool, Get Information Tool, Move Map Tool, and Zoom To All.
7. Show students how to use the Pointer Tool (cursor) to find the latitudes and longitudes of a solar plant. Show students how to read the Percent Sunshine bar at the bottom of the map display.
NOTE: Be sure to show your students that they must click exactly on the solar power plant red dot symbol to get the Layer Information Window to appear. If they do not click exactly on the dot, they will get a Layer Information Window with no data displayed.
8. Have students do the activity and complete the Solar Power Plants Data Chart on their investigation sheets. Provide guidance to students.
9. Instruct students to analyze their completed Solar Power Plants Data Chart and the GIS map to answer the questions on their investigation sheets.
10. Review and discuss aloud student responses to key questions. Ask students if they have any questions about concepts covered in the lesson and respond to their questions. Have students save the changes they made to the My World GIS file if additional time is needed to complete the activity.
11. If students at the completion of the activity do not understand that ideal locations for large solar power plants include areas with a large annual average percent sunshine, modify instruction as needed to ensure students understand this concept.
12. To provide closure to the solar energy section of the energy unit, have students reflect on what they have learned about solar energy. Here are some suggestions:
a) Have students revisit their concept map and add additional information to it.
1. Ask students to respond to the following question in their journal: How would you determine the best place to locate a new solar power plant?
2. Inform students that they will use My World GIS to analyze sunshine data and determine the best place to locate a new solar power plant.
3. Give the Where is the Best Place to Locate a New Solar Power Plant? handouts and investigation sheets back to the students.
4. Use an LCD projector to display My World at the front of the room.
5. Have students access their saved my_world_solar.m3vz file from the previous day. If the file does not load properly, have students download it again from the student resources page. (Note: Hopefully, your students will not have played around with the layers too much, thus, changing the map display).
6. Have students open the my_world_solar.m3vz file in My World GIS. If needed, model step-by-step instructions for using Zoom In Tool, Zoom Out Tool, Pointer Tool, Get Information Tool, Move Map Tool, and Zoom To All.
7. Show students how to use the Pointer Tool (cursor) to find the latitudes and longitudes of a solar plant. Show students how to read the Percent Sunshine bar at the bottom of the map display.
NOTE: Be sure to show your students that they must click exactly on the solar power plant red dot symbol to get the Layer Information Window to appear. If they do not click exactly on the dot, they will get a Layer Information Window with no data displayed.
8. Have students do the activity and complete the Solar Power Plants Data Chart on their investigation sheets. Provide guidance to students.
9. Instruct students to analyze their completed Solar Power Plants Data Chart and the GIS map to answer the questions on their investigation sheets.
10. Review and discuss aloud student responses to key questions. Ask students if they have any questions about concepts covered in the lesson and respond to their questions. Have students save the changes they made to the My World GIS file if additional time is needed to complete the activity.
11. If students at the completion of the activity do not understand that ideal locations for large solar power plants include areas with a large annual average percent sunshine, modify instruction as needed to ensure students understand this concept.
12. To provide closure to the solar energy section of the energy unit, have students reflect on what they have learned about solar energy. Here are some suggestions:
a) Have students revisit their concept map and add additional information to it.
b) Provide students with a reflective question to respond in their journals about solar energy.
For example: Name two things you learned about solar power plants or How can energy from the sun be used to provide energy?
Materials Needed:
Materials Needed:
My World Handouts
(1) Where is the Best Place to Locate a New Solar Power Plant? Teacher Guide (PDF / MS Word)
(2) Where is the Best Place to Locate a New Solar Power Plant? Student Handout (PDF / MS Word)
(3) Where is the Best Place to Locate a New Solar Power Plant? Investigation Sheet (PDF / MS Word)
My World GIS File
my_world_solar (M3VZ)
My World Assessment Information
Where is the Best Place to Locate a New Solar Power Plant? Assessment (PDF / MS Word)
Web GIS Handouts
Web GIS
Web GIS Assessment Information
Where is the Best Place to Locate a New Solar Power Plant? Assessment (PDF / MS Word)
Teacher Resources/Content Support
Solar Energy - Print Version (PDF)
My World GIS Solar Tutorial (QuickTime Video)
Web GIS Solar Tutorial (QuickTime Video)