Subject:

Social Studies

Type of Lesson:

Web-based, discussion, model

construction, whole and small groups

Grade:

10

CSEC OBJ:

Identify the location and uses of the

major natural resource in the
Caribbean region

Term:

Unit Number
and Title:

#-2
Classification location and use of
natural resource ( sustainable)

Duration:

35x2

Week Number:

Lesson Number
and Title:

#-3

Wind and Solar

Objectives
As a result of this lesson, you will be able to:
1) define and use concepts and key vocabulary effectively.
2) identify countries in the region promoting wind and solar as
alternate sources of energy.
3) explain factors considered when deciding wind farms location.
4) explain how the wind and sun are used to the benefit of mankind.
5) differentiate between destructive wind force and useful wind as a
commodity.
6) classify wind and the sun as sources of renewable energy.
7) encourage the use of solar and wind as alternate form of energy.
Prerequisite Student Knowledge
You should be familiar with:
1) other forms of renewable sources of energy.
2) ways man has used various resources to provide for his basic
needs.
3) how to use resources in a sustainable way.
4) conservation practices.
Important Points
1) Solar power is created by harnessing energy from the sunlight and
converting it to electricity. Solar panels are used to capture the
intense tropical sunshine of the Caribbean.

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2) Wind power is created by capturing the energy of the wind and

converting it into electricity.
3) The major difference between wind power and solar is the users.
Homeowners have gravitated to using solar as a means of reducing
or eliminating their electricity bills. Wind power is an industrial
enterprise. Commercial entities especially manufacturing are
largely responsible for the use of wind power.
4) Wind and solar energy predates energy from fossil fuel.
5) The Caribbean has a constant supply of wind and sun ready to be
transformed into electricity.
6) Caribbean governments are working towards the use of alternate
energy source.
7) There is a worldwide trend toward an increased use of alternate
source as its contribution to global warming is less than fossil fuel.
Key Terms
Green energy

Alternate energy form Wind turbine

Solar

Environmentally
friendly

fossil fuel

Challenge Areas
Select an alternative energy source and use persuasive writing to the
editor of a news paper or to local political representative to convince
the adoption of its use.
(To be done at the end of the lesson)
Equipment/Materials Needed
Multimedia projector, computers with internet connectivity;
construction paper, thumb tacks, straws, cellophane tape
Note to Student
1) Pre-cut construction paper (cartridge paper will work just as good)
into six inches square piece.
2) If your school is near the Wigton Wind Farm and Munro College
you may visit these sites. (Be sure to seek your parents' permission
and the operator of the sites before you visit.)
3) There are hyperlinks in this document. Each hyperlink appears as
coloured, underlined text. To follow the link to a place in this
document, point and click on the word or phrase. To return to the
last page viewed, press the Alt key and
(left arrow key).

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Introduction
1) Introductory Activity
What is Alternate Energy Source? - Whole group discussion
a. We will continue our discussion on yet another type of
renewable resource in the Caribbean region
i. Remember that we have looked the land as resource
for agriculture. We have seen how water, our
beaches and marine life are used to meet our daily
physical, social and economic needs
ii. Can you think of any other type of renewable
resource we have not yet mentioned?
iii. Renewable resources are those things in nature with
the ability to reproduce through biological or
natural processes and so replenish as time passes.
iv. So what else can you identify as renewable
resources?
v. The type of resource you are expected to name is
perpetual. All man has to do is harness it. Life
cannot exist without.
vi. You might identify water, oxygen and the sun.
vii. The sun is the answer.
b. In this lesson you will focus on sun and the wind as
alternate of sources of energy.
i. What is alternate energy?
Click here for expected answer.
ii. At the end of the lesson you will be able to answer
correctly the questions in Box 3.1.
Box 3.1
1. Is there more than one energy source? Name others.
2. What is a renewable energy source? (provide examples)
3. What is a nonrenewable energy source? (provide
examples)
4. What are the major differences between nonrenewable
and renewable/alternative energy sources?
5. Where in the country are renewable energy sources being
regularly used?

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iii. Watch the National Geographic video to learn about

the workings of alternative energy.
http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/environ
ment/energy-environment/alternative-energy/
Body of Lesson
1) Wind and solar energy - Whole and small group discussion

Challenge You
Make a simple solar
water heater. Go to:

www.wikihow.com
/Make-a-SimpleSolar-WaterHeater

a. The focus of this lesson is solar and wind energy.

i. In studying the beach as a resource you saw that
tourists come to the Caribbean to enjoy the warm of
the sunshine. We also know that crops and animals,
including man, are fully dependent on the sun for food
ii How else can we in the Caribbean use the sun as a
resource?
b. Throughout the Caribbean governments have been
promoting and encouraging the use of solar energy. They
have been leading by example as many of their offices use
solar energy to some extent.
c. Go to:
http://www.unep.org/greeneconomy/SuccessStories/SolarE
nergyinBarbados/tabid/29891/Default.aspx to read how the
Barbadian government is providing incentives to home
owners who use solar water energy.
d.

The National Housing Trust has an advertisement on its

website, which states that, "The Solar Panel Loan provides
financing to contributors and recognized institutions for buying
and installing solar electricity panels that can be used to
generate electricity".

e. Look at Figure 3.1. What is being shown? Identify its

location.

f.

If you are in close proximity to Jamaica House, take a look

at the solar panels which can be seen from the street.
i. Why are the solar panels on the lawn?
Click here for expected answers (parts e and f).

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Figure 3.1: Solar Panels on the lawn of Jamaica House

(Photo: Vinette Percy)

Warning

Going green has

nothing to do with
political party.

What do you
think?
Is it possible for
Jamaicans to use
only solar energy?

2) What is the importance of going green? - Whole group

discussion
a. Why solar energy is so important that governments across
the region are encouraging its use? The link below will help
you to answer this question.
i. Go to:
http://jamaicagleaner.com/gleaner/20120227/lead/le
ad1.html to read what the Minister of Energy has in
place to promote the use of solar in Jamaica.
ii. Think about the feasibility of the plans outlined in
the article.
iii. Suggest ways citizens and their governments may
work together to promote the use of solar energy.
b. Read the phrase going green.
i. What does the phrase mean?
ii. Going green means using products that will not
harm the environment. If you are going green it
means you are using environmentally friendly
products.
iii. One way to ensure that we have environmentally
friendly products is to develop and use an alternate
source of energy.
c. What is meant by alternate energy? To what is this energy
alternate?
i. The sun is a source of alternate energy that benefits
everyone.

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ii. We in the Caribbean have been using the sun as a

source of energy for generations.
iii. Give some examples of how we have been using the
sun as energy.
Click here for expected answers
d. Look at the picture in Figure 3 .2.
Figure 3.2: Solar Powered Street Lights

i. Scenes such as this one are showing up on many

Caribbean landscapes.
ii. Figure 3.2 shows the solar powered street lights the
developers of Richmond Estate in St Ann, Jamaica
installed throughout the community. They also
advertise that all homes have solar water heaters
and that Solar Power is optional.
iii. Identify communities you know that have solar
power.
e. It is important to note that the use of the sun to heat things
is not a new phenomenon. Since the beginning of time
humans have been using solar energy, mainly to dry things
such as clothes, food and to make salt from the sea and
salty lakes. However the commercial use of solar energy
only became popular gain during the twentieth century.
i. Through brainstorming session discuss then explain
the benefit of solar energy to the individuals and the
country. You should give examples such as those in
Box 3.1.
Box 3.1: Benefits of Solar Energy

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1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Solar energy is cheaper than that obtained from fossil.

It is clean and so is environmental friendly
It is inexhaustible that is, it is renewable.
The region has an abundance of sunlight ready to be
used.
Supply is reliable. No fear of war or unrest in oil
producing nations that may cut off supply.
The region will be less dependent on oil producing
nation.
Protects the country form arbitrary increase from oil
producing company.
Manufactured goods produced using solar will be
cheaper.
Countries will save foreign exchange.

f. In addition to saving money, using solar energy gives peace

of mind and best of all, is environmentally friendly. This is
a benefit to consider as we search for ways to curtail
climate change.
3) How can wind be used as a resource?
a.

In seven minutes you are going to make a pinwheel.

i. Collect the following materials: 6 by 6 piece of
paper, thumbtack, cellophane tape, wooden skewer,
or straw.
ii. Go to the site displayed on the screen and follow the
steps to make a pinwheel.
www.http://familycrafts.about.com/od/creative
paper/ss/pinwheel_3.htm
iii. At the end of the seven minutes stop working.

b. Sit still with your pin wheel in hand to see if it works. Your
pin wheel will not work.
i. With pinwheel in hand walk by the fan to see if the
pinwheel works.
ii. When your pinwheel has been tested say whether or
not yours worked and how you know it did.
iii. What causes the pinwheel to move?
iv. As a child, how else did you use the wind?
Click here for expected answers.

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v.

Would you classify wind as energy? Say why/why

not.

4) What is wind power? - Whole group discussion

a. Read the focus question.
i. Brainstorm to come up with a definition for wind
power. For example: Wind power is the conversion
of the energy in the wind into electricity by using
wind turbine.
iii. Form three groups then go to the sites assigned to
each group and read up on the question: what are
Caribbean governments doing to promote the use of
wind as an alternate energy source?
Groups will be assigned as follows:
Group 1: Read about oil rich Trinidad at:
http://www.trinidadexpress.com/business/Home_gets_c
heap_source_of_energy-165818016.html
Group 2: Go to http://www.jis.gov.jm/news/list/31675 and read about
governments response to the call for a new energy
vision.
Group 3: Go to the following link http://www.gov.gd/egov/news/2012/sep12/11_09_12/it
em_1/launch_carriacou_wind_energy_project.html
read and report on what is happening in Grenada.
b. Wind power is created by harnessing the energy of the
wind and transforming it into electricity.
c. Look at the picture of Wigton Wind Farm found athttp://jamaicagleaner.com/gleaner/20110925/business/busi
ness1.html.
d. Read more: Alternative Forms of Energy in the Caribbean |
eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/about_5562103_alternative-formsenergy-caribbean.html#ixzz2DRbHyaBi
e. You just learnt that wind turbines are costly. Why then is
wind being promoted as a viable option for energy within
the Caribbean? Some answers are given in Box 3 .2 below.

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i. Don't go to the box just yet. Give another name for

the Eastern Caribbean. If you say the Windward
Islands, that is the response we are looking for.
ii. Why do you think the countries are called the
Windward Islands?
Click here for expected answer
iii. Now read about the benefits of wind energy in Box
3.3.
Box 3.3: Benefits of Wind Energy
1. It will secure growth of the economy, create jobs
and lead to cheaper fuel.
2. It will help reduce electricity costs, reduce the
number of power outages and help the
environment.
3. Wind power provides clean, renewable, and free
energy.
4. Renewable energy projects require both skilled and
unskilled workers.
5. There is no greenhouse-gas pollution.
f.

Most countries in the Caribbean have enormous potential

wind energy as the wind force throughout the year is
constantly high.

5) What is Jamaica doing to harness wind as energy?

a. Box 3.4 will help you answer the focus question above.
Box 3 .4: Jamaica's Wind Energy Supply
1. Jamaica's first grid-connected wind-powered generator
was installed at Munro College in February 1996.
2. Wigton began generating wind energy in April 2004.
3. Wigton sells electricity to the Jamaica Public Service
4. Wigton, the largest such wind farm in the Englishspeaking Caribbean, produces enough electricity to
power 50000 homes.
5. Wigton wind farm is located on the Don Figuerero
Mountains, in Manchester. It is owned by the Petroleum
Corporation of Jamaica (PCJ).
6. The PCJ is owned by the government of Jamaica.
b. Wind and water technology are the oldest of all power
sources.
i. Wind was used to propel ships and boats, to operate
pumps.

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ii. Look at Figure 3 .3.

Figure 3 .3: Morgan Lewis Sugar Mill

Challenge You
Use your atlas to
find the Don
Figuerero Mountain.
On which mountain
is the Munro College
Wind-powered
generator located?
the right

(Photo: V. Percy)
iii. Windmills, such as the Morgan Lewis in
Barbados, were used to generate mechanical power
to grind sugar cane. It is the oldest working
windmill in the Western Hemisphere. Once per
year, for a week, the mill is put into operation to
grind sugarcane.

Figure 3 .4: Bettys Hope,

Antigua

Figure 3 .5: Worthy Park,

Jamaica

c. During slavery in the Caribbean, windmills like those

shown in Figures 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5 were on every sugar
plantation in the region.
i. Read the information in Box 3.5.

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Box 3 .5: Solar and wind energy

Wind farms are becoming a more common sight. They're the modern
version of an idea that has been used for centuries. The old-fashioned
windmill, which converted the wind's power into the energy source for
rotating a large millstone, has been replaced by the wind turbine
generator. All of the world's winds are caused directly by the sun, from
the afternoon's gentle sea breeze to the strongest of hurricanes, so
making use of the wind is yet another way of harnessing the sun's
energy. Wind farms can be found both onshore and offshore, and on a
smaller scale, wind turbines can be used in remote areas such as farms
for generating electricity and for pumping water. Yachts also use the
wind, and hence the sun, as a source of power.
Read more: Ways That the Sun's Energy Can Be Harnessed |
eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/info_8449459_ways-suns-energy-canharnessed.html#ixzz2DxVJUaKE

d. For further elaboration on the move towards alternate

energy in the Caribbean view the PowerPoint at:
www.metservice.gov.jm /.../Ren%20ener%20%20jamaica%20present..
Closure
In Class Assignment
1) Go to Google image and find pictures solar panels and windmills
in Jamaica.
2) Go to Google image and find pictures of windmills and wind turbines in
other Caribbean countries.
3) Take this ten-minute test:
a. What is alternate energy?
b. List four types of fuel for which alternate energy is being
sought.
c. How is solar energy created? Why is solar energy more
popular among home owners than wind energy?
d. Look at the picture of the wind mill and wind turbines.
Describe the type of relief is best suited for their location?
Supplemental
Out-of-Class Assignment
1) Research the Caribbean's current use of fossil fuel, wind and solar
energy. Present your findings on a bar chart and a pie chart.

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11

2) What other forms of alternate energy is being used in Jamaica

apart from wind and solar?
3) State the meanings of the acronyms CIPORE and CREDP and
explain their Mandate.
Glossary of Terms
Alternate energy

Alternative energy is any energy source that is an

alternative to fossil fuel

Energy

Strength, power, force

Environmentally
friendly

Eco-friendly, nature friendly, and green are other

terms used. It refer to the use of goods and
services, that will not harm the environment.

Fossil fuel

Fossil fuel is fuel formed naturally from the

decomposition of buried dead organisms. this
type of fuel is nonrenewable. E.g. oil, coal

Green energy

Environmentally friendly power source that are

non-polluting

Solar

Relating to the sun

Wind

Moving air

Wind turbine

A device that uses wind to make electricity

CSEC Questions
a) The Caribbean islands have a constant supply of wind but it is
quite costly to construct the wind turbines. Notwithstanding the
benefits outweigh the cost. Discuss.
10 marks
b) Explain, giving THREE reasons, why the potential for the
Caribbean islands to develop wind and solar energy is great.
6 marks
c) Differentiate between wind and solar powered energy. 4 marks
Total marks 20
Recommended Materials
O'Sullivan-Surjue, Jennifer. et.al (2007) Introducing Geography a
Caribbean Focus. Carlong Caribbean.

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12

Waterman, Ivan., Fisher, Janet. (2007) Social Studies for CSEC

Examination. Oxford: Macmillan Education
Wilson, Mark. (2005) The Caribbean Environment for CXC
geography. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Renewable Energy Initiatives in the Caribbean. Paper presented at
Workshop on Climate Change Enabling Activity Jamaica. by.
Mona Whyte. Caribbean ..
www.metservice.gov.jm/.../Ren%20ener%20%20jamaica%20present

Bibliography
Buckle-Scott, L, Davis-Morrison, V, Louis, A and Lunt P. (2012).
Social Studies for CSEC. Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes Ltd.
Rahil, Vohn A.M. (2005). New Caribbean Geography. Trinidad W.I.:
Caribbean Educational Publisher
Wilson, Mark. (2005) The Caribbean Environment for CXC
geography. Oxford: Oxford University Press
[How solar Energy]. Retrieved December 2, 2012 from: URL
http://www.ucsusa.org/clean_energy/our-energy-choices/renewableenergy/how-solar-energy-works.html

Figure 3.1
Photograph by writer
Figure 3 .4.
[Google image - photograph of Betty's Hope windmill]. Retrieved
December 15, 2012 from: http://www. ........htm

Figure 3 .5
Windmill [worthy Park Jamaica]. Retrieved December 1, 2012 from
http://www.dynamicscience.com.au/tester/solutions/hydraulicus/pulle
ys2.htm
Ways That the Sun's Energy Can Be Harnessed | eHow.com
http://www.ehow.com/info_8449459_ways-suns-energy-canharnessed.html#ixzz2DxVJUaKE
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Alternative Forms of Energy in the Caribbean | eHow.com

http://www.ehow.com/about_5562103_alternative-forms-energycaribbean.html#ixzz2DRbHyaBi

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14

Answers to Questions
Introduction 1) b.
i.
Any energy source that will replace fossil fuel.
Click here to return to the Introduction.

Answers to Questions
Body of Lesson 1) e.
Solar panels. Jamaica house: Office of the Prime Minister.
Body of Lesson 1) f.
i.

To trap the sun's ray for use as energy.

Click here to return to Body of Lesson.

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Answers to Questions
Body of Lesson 2) c.
Part i"
Alternate energy is any energy form that is can be used instead of
fossil fuel, wood, coal.
Part ii
To dry clothes and food; to hasten the ripening of fruits; to dry
agricultural product such as pimento etc.
Click here to return to Body of Lesson.

Answers to Questions
Body of Lesson 3) b.
Part iii.
Part iv.

The wind.
To fly kites.
Click here to return to Body of Lesson.

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Answers to Questions
Body of Lesson 4) e.
ii. Their annual wind velocity is high and never falls below a certain
level
Click here to return to Body of Lesson.

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