Resources: We recommend the following links for teachers, students, environmentalists, scientists, and anyone interested in learning more about renewable energy and solar power.

Glossary

Visit our online glossary for detailed definitions of renewable energy and electrical terms.

Solar Classroom Resources

The following list offers schools and teachers further training and curricula resources. Several of these groups may have utility funded solar schools programs.

• Solar Schools Program examples (lesson plans, real-time data monitoring of connected solar systems, and links to additional resources):
  • Service territories in the U.S.:
    • OH and AEP: www.aep.com/community/TeachersAndStudents/
    • CA: www.pge.com/about/community/education/
    • IL: www.illinoissolarschools.org
    • TX: http://www.txu.com/en/about/community/solar-academy.aspx
    • RI: www.apeiron.org/
  • Australia: http://www.solarschools.net/
  • Philippines: http://www.amore.org.ph/
• Solar School Program developers and implementers (non-profits):
  • The Foundation for Environmental Energy: www.learnenergy.org (expanding environmental and energy literacy, through energy project and related public outreach)
  • NEED (The National Education Development Project): www.need.org
  • The Rahus Institute: www.rahus.org (a 501(c)(3) non-profit research and educational organization with a focus on resource efficiency)
  • Solar Schoolhouse: www.solarschoolhouse.org
• Energy Kid's Page: www.eia.doe.gov/kids/ (learning activities from the U.S. Government's Energy Information Administration)
• From the U.S. Department of Energy:
  
  • Solar Energy Timeline: www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/sunshot/timeline.html (major milestones in the historical development of solar energy)
  • Solar Glossary: www1.eere.energy.gov/solar/sunshot/glossary.html
  • Solar FAQ: www4.eere.energy.gov/solar/sunshot/resource_center/ask (a database of Frequently Asked Questions related to the four solar technologies: Concentrating Solar Power, Photovoltaics, Solar Heating and Solar Lighting)
• Solar Schools Forum: www.ises-online.de/what-we-do/projects/completed-projects/solar-schools-forum (from the International Solar Energy Society)
• Schools Going Solar: A PDF download of activities to incorporate installed photovoltaic systems into the classroom learning environment Download pdf
• Solarbuzz: www.solarbuzz.com/links/education.htm (education links and a variety of solar resources)

Carbon and Solar Learning Tools

• Carbon Calculators:
  
  • From the Nature Conservancy: http://www.nature.org/greenliving/carboncalculator/
  • From the US EPA: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/ind-calculator.html
• Maps & Charts:
  
  • Hot Spots: The Carbon Atlas: http://kelsocartography.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/carbonatlas.pdf (a PDF download of a detailed map of global carbon emissions, from The Guardian in the UK)
  • Global Solar Power Map: Download PDF (overview of worldwide solar power average Peak Sun Hours, from Advanced Energy Group)
• Multimedia Resources and Interactive Projects:
  • US Department of Energy Multimedia Page: https://www.eeremultimedia.energy.gov/solar/
  • Solar Energy Flash Simulations: www.edumedia-sciences.com/en/a188-solar-energy (a large online library of interactive animations in science education, from eduMedia)
    
  • Games for Change-- educational games about energy issues:
    
    • Eskom Energy Planner
      http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/eskom-energy-planner/
    • Ludwig
      http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/ludwig/
      
    • Energyville
      http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/energyville/
      
    • Energy City
      http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/energy-city/
      
    • ElectroCity
      http://www.gamesforchange.org/play/electrocity/
      
  • Sunsite Funsite: https://www.tep.com/renewable/tools/sunsite/frameset.htm

Renewable Energy

• International Energy Agency: http://www.iea.org/ (an intergovernmental organization that advises 28 member countries on reliable, affordable, and clean energy)
  
• World Energy Outlook: www.worldenergyoutlook.org (an authoritative source of energy analysis and projections, from the International Energy Agency. Includes energy projections to 2030)
• U.S. Department of Energy: www.energy.gov
• The Foundation for Environmental Education: www.fee-international.org/en (educational programming, energy projects, and related public outreach activities throughout the United States and abroad)
• World Energy and Consumption Page, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_energy_resources_and_consumption (Note: Wikipedia is an open-content collaborative encyclopedia that anyone can edit, with no peer review; please quote with caution)
• Clean Energy States Alliance: www.cleanenergystates.org (a nonprofit organization comprised of members from 16 clean energy funds and two state agencies)
• The Foundation for Environmental Energy: www.learnenergy.org (expanding environmental and energy literacy, through energy project and related public outreach)
• The Berkeley Institute of the Environment: http://bie.berkeley.edu (part of the UC Berkeley Research Center, brings together 300 faculty, dozens of research centers, and thousands of students with research interests in the environment)

Statistics

• Worldometers: www.worldometers.info (world statistics, including energy and population, updated in real time, managed by an international team of developers, researchers, and volunteers)
• Energy Information Administration: www.eia.doe.gov (official energy statistics from the U.S. government)

Solar Events

• World Solar Challenge: www.worldsolarchallenge.org/
• American Solar Challenge: www.americansolarchallenge.org (an educational sporting event in which university teams, companies, and clubs from around the world compete to build and race solar-powered cars across the U.S.)
• Renewable/Solar Energy Conferences and Fairs: www.solarbuzz.com/infocenterupcoming.htm (regularly updated schedules from Solarbuzz)

Publications, Blogs

• Renewable Energy World: www.renewableenergyworld.com
• Energy Seeds: http://energyseeds.com (an online journal documenting energy and environmental projects at solar schools around the U.S. and the world)
• Technorati's Green Channel: www.technorati.com/lifestyle/green (a page devoted to green blogs from a leading blog search engine).
• Blog posts mentioning solar: www.technorati.com/search/solar+energy?language=en (Technorati's live tracking of the blogosphere)