Energy

The search for new sources of power will never end. This topic covers the science, technology and history of various sources of energy like hydro, nuclear, and fossil fuels. it also includes sustainable and renewable power including solar, wind and tidal power. SCIS no. 1933908

All items

Images
Clyde Dam, Otago - Photograph taken by Phil Reid
Clyde Dam, Otago - Photograph taken by Phil Reid
Clyde Dam, Otago. Shows a barge and digger deepening the tailrace on the right. Lake Dunstan is behind the dam. Photograph taken circa 19 April 1993 by Evening Post staff photographer Phil Reid. Q...
Articles
Renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy comes from natural sources like the sun, wind, water and natural gas. Non renewable energy comes from fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal. Renewable energy sources have unlimited s...
Articles
Renewable energy (junior)
Renewable energy (junior)
Renewable energy comes from natural sources such as the sun, wind and water. These sources are sustainable as there is no risk of them running out. Using renewable energy sources is an important wa...
Articles
Oil and gas (fossil fuels)
Oil and gas (fossil fuels)
Oil and gas are fossil fuels which means they are formed from fossils, which are the remains of animals and plants that lived long ago. Fossil fuels are used around the world as an energy source fo...
Videos
Geothermal power at Wairākei - Roadside Stories
Geothermal power at Wairākei - Roadside Stories
When completed in 1963, Wairākei was one of just two geothermal power stations in the world. However, it has adversely affected the surrounding thermal area -- tourist attractions such as the famou...
Images
Wave-powered generator
Wave-powered generator
Waves are a powerful source of energy, but wave power is an untested technology in New Zealand. The system illustrated here is in commercial production in Scotland. Known as the oscillating water c...
Articles
Wind power
Harnessing the wind to make work easier is not a new technology. People have been using wind to mill grain, draw water and to power their boats for thousands of years. As we become increasingly con...
Articles
Exploring solar power
In this activity, students explore sunlight being converted into electricity. They are introduced to the concept of photovoltaics – making electricity from sunlight. They will become aware of some ...
Images
Plan for a nuclear power plant on Kaipara Harbour
Plan for a nuclear power plant on Kaipara Harbour
This plan for a nuclear power plant on Kaipara Harbour is from an Auckland Ministry of Works file. In the 1960s it was felt that nuclear power generation would be needed to supply increasing deman...
Videos
Forest & Bird present to MPs on the Bill to end new oil and gas drilling
Forest & Bird present to MPs on the Bill to end new oil and gas drilling
In October 2018, Forest & Bird gave an oral submission to the Environment Select Committee in Parliament. Chief Executive Kevin Hague, and Climate Advocate Adelia Hallett, spoke about the impacts o...
Articles
Can food waste and poo power help NZ reach its low emission goal?
Our agriculture waste should be used, rather than discarded to power this country to lower emissions, says one New Zealand company.
Videos
Burning fossil fuels
In fossil fuels, the carbon is stored in long-chain hydrocarbons, and then through combustion with oxygen in our cars or in factories, the carbon is converted to CO2, which is released to the atmos...
Images
Inventor, Frank Cresswell
Inventor, Frank Cresswell
This is a photograph of inventor Frank Cresswell from Petone. He created his own solar panels and wind turbines to produce electrical energy. His efforts to harness energy were successful because h...
Videos
Volcanic Power
Volcanic Power
This 1962 film about geothermal power generation begins with animated sequences telling the Māori legend of how the North Island’s volcanoes were created. Then it explores the “crazy idea” of volca...
Videos
Auckland blackout, 1998
Auckland blackout, 1998
Auckland’s 1998 power crisis resulted in a loss of supply to parts of the city that lasted for five weeks. While the city centre ‘throbbed with diesel generators and looked like a war zone’, hospit...
Articles
New batteries store unused solar power
New batteries store unused solar power
One of the barriers to homeowners going solar may soon be overcome, with two companies now offering home storage batteries.
Articles
Energy sources through time – timeline
Use this timeline to explore how humans have relied on fossil fuels in the past and how we are looking for, and using, new energy sources.
Videos
Hydrogen fuel cells
Prof Richard Haverkamp, of Massey University, describes hydrogen as an energy carrier, and how it could replace non-renewable carbon-based fuels.
Articles
Zero carbon by 2050 - how on earth do we get there?
Zero carbon by 2050 - how on earth do we get there?
Attention quickly needs to focus on cars, trees, batteries and farms, writes energy analyst Briony Bennett.
Videos
Building the Roxburgh dam
Building the Roxburgh dam
Watch footage of the early stages of the construction of the Roxburgh dam. Construction of the first dam on the Clutha River was completed in 1956. Thousands of tonnes of concrete were slowly poure...
Images
Pylon, Taranaki, 2002
Pylon, Taranaki, 2002
Videos
The Line
The Line
Manapōuri hydroelectric power station is New Zealand’s largest. This 1970 NFU film — made for the Electricity Department — follows workers clearing a path for power through epic Fiordland mountains...
Audio
'Damn the dam'
'Damn the dam'
John Hanlon's song 'Damn the dam' was originally recorded as a jingle for a home-insulation advertisement. In 1973 it was adopted by environmentalists as a protest song against a government proposa...
Videos
SUBTERRANEAN STEAM POWER FOR NEW ZEALAND? DRILLING FOR STEAM AT WAIRAKEI
SUBTERRANEAN STEAM POWER FOR NEW ZEALAND? DRILLING FOR STEAM AT WAIRAKEI
The early days of the Wairākei geothermal power project. Intertitle: “Site of drilling operations seven miles north of Taupo” Panned shot of site at Wairākei. “Mobile rigs are used”. Shots of...
Images
Anderson Steam Engine
Anderson Steam Engine
Images
Poster, 'Coal Is Power'
Poster, 'Coal Is Power'
Images
Coal Range
Coal Range
Images
The coal tree
The coal tree
Poster produced by the New Zealand coal industry to promote the benefits of coal an energy resource. Illustration of a tree with branches that depict the various uses of coal such as fuel, consumab...
Images
Windmill.
Windmill.
Videos
Living light
A prototype home powered entirely by solar energy called "Living Light."
Articles
Biomass energy
Types of biomass energy, fun facts and drawbacks.
Videos
How Electricity is made?
Learn how electricity is generated and the difference between hydro-electricity, thermal and nuclear generated energy.
Articles
Energy
Energy and its forms.
Articles
Tidal energy optimisation
Understanding tidal resources in New Zealand’s coastal waters.
Articles
Wind energy in New Zealand
How does wind energy work and what is the future of wind energy in New Zealand?
Articles
Fossil fuel
Interesting facts on fossil fuels.
Articles
The story of fossil fuel
Discovery of coal and how it was first used.
Articles
Renewable energy
Types of renewable energy.
Articles
Is hydrogen still the fuel of the future?
How does hydrogen power fit into the future?
Articles
Electricity generation and demand in New Zealand
Take a close look at the data on electricity generation and demand in New Zealand.
Articles
Dangers of nuclear power
Radioactive waste, the myths and realities.
Articles
Types of energy
The classification of different types of energy.
Other
What is energy?
Lesson plan to define types of energy.
Articles
Energy efficient appliances
Tips to help you make energy efficient decisions.
Articles
Increasing demand
Factors leading to the increase in demand for power.
Articles
Borrower in Junior Journal 57, Level 2: Nov: 2018
A poem about sun, wind, tides and rivers as sources of power.
Images
Māui gas platform
Māui gas platform
A contract to build a platform for extracting resources from the seabed, such as the Māui B platform off the Taranaki coast, has to have many provisions because innumerable circumstances, some of t...
Articles
Biofuel
Uses, classes and energy content of biofuels.
Videos
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is like creating a star on Earth.
Articles
From uranium to nuclear plants
New Zealand's 'secret' nuclear past.
Websites
WWW
How does nuclear power work
How does a nuclear reactor work?
Other
New Zealand wind energy
Wind energy resources for teachers and students.
Images
Stewart Lister in his solar energy powered car - Photograph taken by Mark Coote
Stewart Lister in his solar energy powered car
Energy from the sun is an abundant and renewable source of energy. Solar panels generate electricity directly from the sun. This is an image of Solar Kiwi, a solar-powered car designed by New Zeal...
Images
Kaipara tidal power turbine. 19 February 2011
Kaipara tidal power turbine
Tidal power, a renewable source of energy, uses underwater turbines and generators to convert the movement of tidal water into electricity. A tidal power station was to be built in the Kaipara Harb...
Newspapers
MAKING THE WIND WORK. (Mataura Ensign 2-8-1910)
Making the wind work
People have used wind power to propel their ships and boats for thousands of years before they realised that wind could also be a source of power in other areas. It was in 1888 that inventor Charle...
Images
'If NZ had nuke power?..' 29 May, 2008
'If NZ had nuke power?
New Zealand’s nuclear story began in late 1955 when two prospectors Fredrick Cassin and Charles Jacobsen accidentally discovered uranium on the West Coast. Their Geiger counter began ticking wildly...
Images
Wairakei Geothermal Power Station, Taupo District
Wairakei Geothermal Power Station
The Wairakei power station lies beside the Waikato River around 7 km north of Taupo above an active volcanic zone It is the world’s second geothermal power station and the first to use steam from...
Videos
How does an electric motor work?
Electric motors can seem very mysterious! How do they use electricity to start rotating? Let's break it down step by step to understand how it works.
Videos
Meremere thermal power station
This film shows the Meremere thermal power station under construction in 1957.
Articles
What is gasoline made of?
Gasoline is produced from a thick, dark substance pumped from deep underground. We call that substance crude oil or petroleum.
Articles
Hydropower
Hydropower or hydroelectricity refers to the conversion of energy from flowing water into electricity.
Data
Environment : energy
Charts and graphs relating to energy in New Zealand.
Articles
Renewable fuels
Quick facts, a slide show and quiz on renewable energy resources.
Articles
How does the sun make energy?
Explores the reaction that creates energy released by the Sun.
Other
Think green - Utilizing renewable solar energy
Explore the cost-effectiveness of installing solar panels and determine the appropriate locations for solar panels.
Articles
Wind and solar power
New Zealand is perfectly placed to develop renewable sources of energy.
Videos
How do you turn rubbish into energy?
Find out about the largest energy recovery facility in Oslo, Norway.
Articles
Geothermal energy
Geothermal energy is heat energy from within the earth.
Videos
How hydroelectricity works
An explanation on how hydro stations convert falling water into electricity
Articles
Learn how to live a lower carbon lifestyle
A lower carbon lifestyle is better for our climate, your wellbeing, and your pocket.
Articles
Wind energy student fact sheet
This fact sheet focuses on how electricity is made and explains how wind turbines work.
Websites
WWW
EPIC
Find more information on power using EPIC. Databases recommended: Britannica School; Environmental Studies (Gale in context); NZ Geographic. School login maybe required.
Images
Clyde Dam, Otago - Photograph taken by Phil Reid
Clyde Dam, Otago - Photograph taken by Phil Reid
Clyde Dam, Otago. Shows a barge and digger deepening the tailrace on the right. Lake Dunstan is behind the dam. Photograph taken circa 19 April 1993 by Evening Post staff photographer Phil Reid. Q...
Articles
Renewable energy
Renewable energy
Renewable energy comes from natural sources like the sun, wind, water and natural gas. Non renewable energy comes from fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal. Renewable energy sources have unlimited s...
Articles
Renewable energy (junior)
Renewable energy (junior)
Renewable energy comes from natural sources such as the sun, wind and water. These sources are sustainable as there is no risk of them running out. Using renewable energy sources is an important wa...
Articles
Oil and gas (fossil fuels)
Oil and gas (fossil fuels)
Oil and gas are fossil fuels which means they are formed from fossils, which are the remains of animals and plants that lived long ago. Fossil fuels are used around the world as an energy source fo...
Videos
Geothermal power at Wairākei - Roadside Stories
Geothermal power at Wairākei - Roadside Stories
When completed in 1963, Wairākei was one of just two geothermal power stations in the world. However, it has adversely affected the surrounding thermal area -- tourist attractions such as the famou...
Images
Wave-powered generator
Wave-powered generator
Waves are a powerful source of energy, but wave power is an untested technology in New Zealand. The system illustrated here is in commercial production in Scotland. Known as the oscillating water c...
Articles
Wind power
Harnessing the wind to make work easier is not a new technology. People have been using wind to mill grain, draw water and to power their boats for thousands of years. As we become increasingly con...
Articles
Exploring solar power
In this activity, students explore sunlight being converted into electricity. They are introduced to the concept of photovoltaics – making electricity from sunlight. They will become aware of some ...
Images
Plan for a nuclear power plant on Kaipara Harbour
Plan for a nuclear power plant on Kaipara Harbour
This plan for a nuclear power plant on Kaipara Harbour is from an Auckland Ministry of Works file. In the 1960s it was felt that nuclear power generation would be needed to supply increasing deman...
Videos
Forest & Bird present to MPs on the Bill to end new oil and gas drilling
Forest & Bird present to MPs on the Bill to end new oil and gas drilling
In October 2018, Forest & Bird gave an oral submission to the Environment Select Committee in Parliament. Chief Executive Kevin Hague, and Climate Advocate Adelia Hallett, spoke about the impacts o...
Articles
Can food waste and poo power help NZ reach its low emission goal?
Our agriculture waste should be used, rather than discarded to power this country to lower emissions, says one New Zealand company.
Videos
Burning fossil fuels
In fossil fuels, the carbon is stored in long-chain hydrocarbons, and then through combustion with oxygen in our cars or in factories, the carbon is converted to CO2, which is released to the atmos...
Images
Inventor, Frank Cresswell
Inventor, Frank Cresswell
This is a photograph of inventor Frank Cresswell from Petone. He created his own solar panels and wind turbines to produce electrical energy. His efforts to harness energy were successful because h...
Videos
Volcanic Power
Volcanic Power
This 1962 film about geothermal power generation begins with animated sequences telling the Māori legend of how the North Island’s volcanoes were created. Then it explores the “crazy idea” of volca...
Videos
Auckland blackout, 1998
Auckland blackout, 1998
Auckland’s 1998 power crisis resulted in a loss of supply to parts of the city that lasted for five weeks. While the city centre ‘throbbed with diesel generators and looked like a war zone’, hospit...
Articles
New batteries store unused solar power
New batteries store unused solar power
One of the barriers to homeowners going solar may soon be overcome, with two companies now offering home storage batteries.
Articles
Energy sources through time – timeline
Use this timeline to explore how humans have relied on fossil fuels in the past and how we are looking for, and using, new energy sources.
Videos
Hydrogen fuel cells
Prof Richard Haverkamp, of Massey University, describes hydrogen as an energy carrier, and how it could replace non-renewable carbon-based fuels.
Articles
Zero carbon by 2050 - how on earth do we get there?
Zero carbon by 2050 - how on earth do we get there?
Attention quickly needs to focus on cars, trees, batteries and farms, writes energy analyst Briony Bennett.
Videos
Building the Roxburgh dam
Building the Roxburgh dam
Watch footage of the early stages of the construction of the Roxburgh dam. Construction of the first dam on the Clutha River was completed in 1956. Thousands of tonnes of concrete were slowly poure...
Images
Pylon, Taranaki, 2002
Pylon, Taranaki, 2002
Videos
The Line
The Line
Manapōuri hydroelectric power station is New Zealand’s largest. This 1970 NFU film — made for the Electricity Department — follows workers clearing a path for power through epic Fiordland mountains...
Audio
'Damn the dam'
'Damn the dam'
John Hanlon's song 'Damn the dam' was originally recorded as a jingle for a home-insulation advertisement. In 1973 it was adopted by environmentalists as a protest song against a government proposa...
Videos
SUBTERRANEAN STEAM POWER FOR NEW ZEALAND? DRILLING FOR STEAM AT WAIRAKEI
SUBTERRANEAN STEAM POWER FOR NEW ZEALAND? DRILLING FOR STEAM AT WAIRAKEI
The early days of the Wairākei geothermal power project. Intertitle: “Site of drilling operations seven miles north of Taupo” Panned shot of site at Wairākei. “Mobile rigs are used”. Shots of...
Images
Anderson Steam Engine
Anderson Steam Engine
Images
Poster, 'Coal Is Power'
Poster, 'Coal Is Power'
Images
Coal Range
Coal Range
Images
The coal tree
The coal tree
Poster produced by the New Zealand coal industry to promote the benefits of coal an energy resource. Illustration of a tree with branches that depict the various uses of coal such as fuel, consumab...
Images
Windmill.
Windmill.
Videos
Living light
A prototype home powered entirely by solar energy called "Living Light."
Articles
Biomass energy
Types of biomass energy, fun facts and drawbacks.
Videos
How Electricity is made?
Learn how electricity is generated and the difference between hydro-electricity, thermal and nuclear generated energy.
Articles
Energy
Energy and its forms.
Articles
Tidal energy optimisation
Understanding tidal resources in New Zealand’s coastal waters.
Articles
Wind energy in New Zealand
How does wind energy work and what is the future of wind energy in New Zealand?
Articles
Fossil fuel
Interesting facts on fossil fuels.
Articles
The story of fossil fuel
Discovery of coal and how it was first used.
Articles
Renewable energy
Types of renewable energy.
Articles
Is hydrogen still the fuel of the future?
How does hydrogen power fit into the future?
Articles
Electricity generation and demand in New Zealand
Take a close look at the data on electricity generation and demand in New Zealand.
Articles
Dangers of nuclear power
Radioactive waste, the myths and realities.
Articles
Types of energy
The classification of different types of energy.
Other
What is energy?
Lesson plan to define types of energy.
Articles
Energy efficient appliances
Tips to help you make energy efficient decisions.
Articles
Increasing demand
Factors leading to the increase in demand for power.
Articles
Borrower in Junior Journal 57, Level 2: Nov: 2018
A poem about sun, wind, tides and rivers as sources of power.
Images
Māui gas platform
Māui gas platform
A contract to build a platform for extracting resources from the seabed, such as the Māui B platform off the Taranaki coast, has to have many provisions because innumerable circumstances, some of t...
Articles
Biofuel
Uses, classes and energy content of biofuels.
Videos
Nuclear fusion
Nuclear fusion is like creating a star on Earth.
Articles
From uranium to nuclear plants
New Zealand's 'secret' nuclear past.
Websites
WWW
How does nuclear power work
How does a nuclear reactor work?
Other
New Zealand wind energy
Wind energy resources for teachers and students.
Images
Stewart Lister in his solar energy powered car - Photograph taken by Mark Coote
Stewart Lister in his solar energy powered car
Energy from the sun is an abundant and renewable source of energy. Solar panels generate electricity directly from the sun. This is an image of Solar Kiwi, a solar-powered car designed by New Zeal...
Images
Kaipara tidal power turbine. 19 February 2011
Kaipara tidal power turbine
Tidal power, a renewable source of energy, uses underwater turbines and generators to convert the movement of tidal water into electricity. A tidal power station was to be built in the Kaipara Harb...
Newspapers
MAKING THE WIND WORK. (Mataura Ensign 2-8-1910)
Making the wind work
People have used wind power to propel their ships and boats for thousands of years before they realised that wind could also be a source of power in other areas. It was in 1888 that inventor Charle...
Images
'If NZ had nuke power?..' 29 May, 2008
'If NZ had nuke power?
New Zealand’s nuclear story began in late 1955 when two prospectors Fredrick Cassin and Charles Jacobsen accidentally discovered uranium on the West Coast. Their Geiger counter began ticking wildly...
Images
Wairakei Geothermal Power Station, Taupo District
Wairakei Geothermal Power Station
The Wairakei power station lies beside the Waikato River around 7 km north of Taupo above an active volcanic zone It is the world’s second geothermal power station and the first to use steam from...
Videos
How does an electric motor work?
Electric motors can seem very mysterious! How do they use electricity to start rotating? Let's break it down step by step to understand how it works.
Videos
Meremere thermal power station
This film shows the Meremere thermal power station under construction in 1957.
Articles
What is gasoline made of?
Gasoline is produced from a thick, dark substance pumped from deep underground. We call that substance crude oil or petroleum.
Articles
Hydropower
Hydropower or hydroelectricity refers to the conversion of energy from flowing water into electricity.
Data
Environment : energy
Charts and graphs relating to energy in New Zealand.
Articles
Renewable fuels
Quick facts, a slide show and quiz on renewable energy resources.
Articles
How does the sun make energy?
Explores the reaction that creates energy released by the Sun.
Other
Think green - Utilizing renewable solar energy
Explore the cost-effectiveness of installing solar panels and determine the appropriate locations for solar panels.
Articles
Wind and solar power
New Zealand is perfectly placed to develop renewable sources of energy.
Videos
How do you turn rubbish into energy?
Find out about the largest energy recovery facility in Oslo, Norway.
Articles
Geothermal energy
Geothermal energy is heat energy from within the earth.
Videos
How hydroelectricity works
An explanation on how hydro stations convert falling water into electricity
Articles
Learn how to live a lower carbon lifestyle
A lower carbon lifestyle is better for our climate, your wellbeing, and your pocket.
Articles
Wind energy student fact sheet
This fact sheet focuses on how electricity is made and explains how wind turbines work.
Websites
WWW
EPIC
Find more information on power using EPIC. Databases recommended: Britannica School; Environmental Studies (Gale in context); NZ Geographic. School login maybe required.

Other resources

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