Smart Drive Success - EcoInnovation

Engineer/inventor: Michael Lawley with the Pelton turbine in his workshop.

Michael Lawley is a Taranaki inventor.  He turns what some people think is rubbish into generators that can power a home.

Most Taranaki stories tell of inventors from the past but Michael Lawley's inventions are being made and used now.  That's good because non-renewable resources like coal, oil and gas are fizzling out. The more renewable energy ideas we can use now, the better off we will be in the future.

Rewind
New Zealand's first public electricity supply was connected in Reefton in 1887. Checkout the events on the technology timeline below and decide whether each one is true or false

1. In 1866 New Zealand's first oil well is drilled at Moturoa, New Plymouth.
2. In 1872 Auckland and Wellington are linked by a telegraph line. People can now send Morse code messages to each other.
3. In 1898 several witnesses say that Richard Pearse, a South Canterbury farmer has just made a controlled powered flight in an aeroplane he has built.
4. In 1899 Cecil Wood from Timaru builds New Zealand's first motorbike.
5. In 1899 letters are carried by a motorised vehicle for the first time.

Answers at the bottom of the page

Word Watch

All the words and phrases below are in this week's story. Choose the best meaning and then check your answers as you read the story.

1. literally (a) actually or (b) virtually
2. renewable resource (a) something that can be used again and again because it will always be there or (b) something that must be rebuilt when it is all used up
3. fossicking (a) hunting for something or (b) thinking deeply
4. turbine (a) an engine or (b) rotor blades
5. pack a punch (a) generate a lot of power or (b)become dangerous
6. laden (a)complete or (b) loaded
7. hydro station (a) a power station that uses water to generate electricity or (b)any place where electricity is generated
8. pressurized water (a) bubbling water or (b) water that flows at greater than normal pressure
9. developing countries (a) countries with high populations that are growing very fast or (b) countries that have a low level of industrial and technological expertise and don't produce many goods for overseas markets
10. potential (a) power or (b) possible ability

Answers at the bottom of the page.

What is a generator?

Generators change water power, steam power, or other kinds of mechanical energy into electricity. Michael Lawley makes them.

A basic generator has a square loop of wire on an axle and two magnets. The loop is placed between the opposing poles of the magnets, and the magnets are set at a right angle to the axle. Spinning the axle moves the loop in the magnetic field, and this creates an electrical current.

Try drawing that so we can see how a basic generator works! ( You'll need some labels.)

Generators in action

Hydro electric generators supply a lot of New Zealand's electricity. There are about 60 power stations in New Zealand and 40 are hydro-stations.

Hydro-electric stations produce electricity via a generator. In a power station, the generator is made up of hundreds of loops between an electromagnet.

The axle, called a rotor, has to be turned somehow for the generator to work. In a hydro-station, the rotor blades (turbines) are turned by water falling through them.

Look here for a diagram showing how it all works.

What else drives a generator?

Steam turns the turbines in geothermal, coal and natural gas powered stations. This steam is produced when fuels are burnt to heat water. A wind farm uses the force of the wind to generate electricity.

These big power stations send their electricity to the national power grid.

What's this 'national grid'?

It's the backbone of the New Zealand's power supply - a 12,175km network of power pylons, poles and cables that criss-crosses New Zealand, together with the 170 electricity sub-stations.

Most of us tap into the national grid for our power supply. We pay power companies for the electricity. The more power people use, the more money they pay and if the big South Island hydro lakes are low and can't generate as much electricity, there may be power cuts.

People with Michael Lawley's machines don't have to hook up to the National Grid. They generate their own electricity and may never have to have a cold shower after footy practice, or pay a power bill.

Treasure in trash

Read Smart Thinking - the first part of this week's story.

Michael uses recycled washing machine parts for his generators. Does that mean washing machines don't last very long?

Try a quick survey in your class. Find out how many students have lived in a household that has replaced their washing machine.

A renewable business!

Michael runs a renewable energy business. It may not be as big as the oil and gas energy companies in Taranaki but it will never run out of the resources it depends on.

New Zealand's largest gas field is just off the Taranaki coast but experts think it will run out in 2007 or sooner. New Zealand depends on gas for about 30% of its energy needs. That's why renewable resources- the ones Michael Lawley works with, are quite handy. We can keep using them.

Sort the resources below into two lists- renewable and non renewable resources.
Solar power ( from the sun), natural gas, water, coal, oil, geothermal steam, wind, firewood.

Cycle power!

Read "Recycling waste" and find out where Michael gets the parts for his generators now.

Michael's company even makes bicycle generators. People pedal an exercycle and generate electricity as they keep fit.
 
Imagine that. Your pedal power could charge your TV. You could pedal away and watch TV and have a have a rest during the ad breaks. To get super fit you could watch a movie on a DVD.

This recycled pizza box oven could be just the thing for heating up your movie snack. Make one sometime and test it out.

Water power!

New Zealand has some massive hydro electric power stations but people can power their whole house with a hydro station that is the size of a small suitcase.  All they need is a small stream or river near by.

Read how it's done in the next part of the story called "Hydro generation".

Check out this site and find out how much fall a river needs if a hydro station is to be successful.

Draw and label a diagram that shows how Michael's mini hydro station works. Or… be as inventive as Michael Lawley and recycle some junk to build a model that shows how his hydro station works.

Power for remote communities

Read "Smart thinking goes global" and find out how Ecoinnovation products can help small, isolated communities.

Try this activity with a classmate.

Eco friendly Taranaki 

Read "A renewable future now," and then explore this site

Look for information about the different areas in Taranaki.

Taranaki is an ideal place for eco-friendly generators. We have heaps of rivers and streams, a good supply of wind and at times, plenty of sunshine.

What if you were in charge of powering one of Taranaki's smaller towns by renewable energy? This means you can only use wind, water and solar power. Which of Taranaki's small towns would you choose? One town for example might get more wind and have a better water supply than all the others.

Mark in the town that you choose on a map. The cartoon above shows you the shape. Draw and label the features around your town that make it such a good choice.

Explain the reasons for your choice to the rest of the class.

Remember- that Taranaki Regional Explorer web site gives you all sorts of information.

A renewable energy home

Michael Lawley's own home is powered by renewable resources but does it have modern electrical appliances like most family homes? Finish the story now and find out.

Wind, sun and water energy powers the Lawley family home. Michael says all energy will have to be renewable someday so should we start now?

What if every new home built had to include one form of renewable energy to help power it up? Which of the three renewable resources would be the best one to choose? Wind, sun or water? Decide with a classmate.

Fast forward

Left over batteries from the closed Motunui Methanex plant have been snapped up by Michael Lawley from EcoInnovation.

The Taranaki Daily News reports that the batteries will be recycled into powerbanks for hydro, wind and solar energy generators. There are enough to set up about 30 renewable energy systems.

Michael says that even the big power companies are deciding whether it is too expensive to supply power to isolated properties.

He asks why everyone should pay to send power cables out into the middle of nowhere for one or two people.

So what's the solution? Try solving this problem in pairs or in a small group using this chart.

Answers

Rewind answers

1. True
2. True. Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch had telegraph lines in their cities in 1862 and by 1876 a submarine cable linked New Zealand and New South Wales, Australia
3. False. This didn't happen until 1903 but Richard Pearse himself said that he didn't really make a controlled flight. He crashed into a hedge
4. True. Cecil also built New Zealand's first combustion engine
5. False. This didn't happen until 1904 when the mail was carried between Wairaki and Rotorua

Word watch
1a, 2a, 3a, 4b, 5a, 6b, 7a, 8b, 9b, 10b

Renewable or non-renewable?
Renewable resources are wind, solar power (the sun), firewood, water and geothermal steam. Non renewable resources are coal, oil and gas.