Clean Energy and Electrification

Clean Energy and Electrification connects how we generate energy, how we move, and how we power it all. Students research renewable energy sources, explore how electric vehicles and transportation infrastructure affect community health and the environment, and design a low-carbon electric grid for the entire U.S.

How do we get to a low-carbon future? This collection guides students through the clean energy transition, from renewable energy sources to the vehicles on our streets to the grid that powers them. In Renewable Energy for Schools, students examine the impacts of fossil fuels, research renewable sources like solar, wind, and geothermal, and design renewable energy solutions for their own campus. In Sustainable Transportation, students compare EVs to gas-powered vehicles, plan a long-distance EV road trip, address charging equity as city council members, and redesign a busy street as urban planners. In Decarbonizing the Electric Grid, they bring it all together, using an interactive web app to build a low-carbon grid for the entire U.S. while balancing emissions, cost, environmental impacts, and the pace of construction. Lessons can be taught independently or sequentially, and educators can adapt them to their community’s unique energy and transportation challenges.