Renewable energies are inexhaustible by human standards since they renew themselves. They present an alternative to fossil energy sources due to their significantly lower carbon dioxide emissions. Each renewable energy source is shown combined with a specific use in power plants: sun as the energy source and a solar thermal power plant, wind as the energy source and a wind turbine, and water as the energy source and a run-of-river power plant.

Information and ideas:
The graphic provides the students with an overview of renewable energy sources. At the same time, a connection is established to the technologies for electric power and heat generation. The graphic can be used as an introduction to the topic of renewable energies and simultaneously as a starting point for a discussion on energy sources, energy converters, and the environment and ecology.

Renewable energy sources (Bild)

Personal, social and health education (PSHE)

Grade 1 to 4

Elementary school

Ecology; Energy; Environmental protection; Hydroelectric plant; Power generation; Renewable energy; Solar technology; Sun; Water; Wind; Wind power plant; Primary energy; Renewable energy; Whiteboard-compatible

Siemens Stiftung Media Portal

MediaHouse GmbH using material from: By Z22 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=27881587(parabolic trough solar collector; license: CC BY-SA 3.0), ESA./NASA/SOHO (sun)

© Siemens Stiftung 2018