2.Solar Energy in the Community
The Lion Class (6th Class) undertook a project to investigate Solar Energy in the Community.
Our project on Solar Energy in our Community involved investigating and researching many areas of science. It included changing solar into electrical energy as well as energy in our diets. We prepared food chains as examples of energy in our diets and everyday lives.
We asked parents in our school community about solar energy in their homes. Then we took the data and made it into colourful graphs. We learned about the Solar Farms installed in Eli Lilly from Eamon Judge who came to visit us in Nohoval. Then for even more information for our project we did an experiment on Cress Seeds in different light conditions and designed and made solar ovens.
Why this project?
Solar Energy in Our Community
Solar power in our community is the project we have been working on for the past few months. We chose this project because we read about the rising cost of electricity partly caused by the war in Ukraine.
We found out that energy can not be made or destroyed -it can only be changed from one form to another form. Plants have their own inbuilt solar panels, they use a process called photosynthesis to change sunlight into a sugar or food for the plant. During our project we found out that the sun is vital for growing plants, crops and food.
We also had a special guest Éamonn Judge from Eli Lily who came to our school to tell us about their solar farm. After all our research we found out that solar panels definitely work better in the months June, July and August and then the lowest output would be in the months December, January and February. People are still trying to figure out how to make better batteries for storing electricity made into the solar panels.
We decided to try an experiment on one of the coldest days – we put out solar ovens that we had designed on Friday 9th December with squares of chocolate. The temperature was 2 degrees Celsius and it did not melt even in the direct sunlight.
Solar Energy in Industry
Eamonn Judge came to visit our school on Wednesday the 23rd of November 2022.He works for Eli Lilly a company near our local town Kinsale. The company makes all kinds of medicines. He taught us about the solar farm at Eli Lilly and how solar energy is used to power parts of the factory. At Eli Lilly they have a huge solar farm that spans 16 acres with a total of 12,600 panels.
He showed us a graph of how solar energy increases in the summer and decreases in the winter. May, June and July were the best months for the solar farm. All the solar panels are black because they attract the most sunlight. Eli Lilly found solar panels so beneficial that they decided to invest into a new solar farm. Solar panels are good for the environment and don’t rely on burning fossil fuels which damage the environment .
Now they have a second solar farm being installed their solar panels are like sunflowers they track the sun by turning to the sun all through the day to get the maximum amount of energy, they used to all face south, now some face east and west so wherever the sun is in the sky some of the panels will be facing it directly.
They use sheep that eat the grass under the solar panels to keep the grass low so it doesn’t block the sun’s view.
They estimate that by the time the next phases of the solar farm is completed towards the end of the year of 2022, the entire farm will reduce the annual use of electricity imported from the grid by Eli Lilly in Kinsale by an average of 20%. The panels are firmly connected by concrete bases which keep the solar panels in place.
Eli Lilly reckon that they will make a good profit and help in saving the world one panel at a time. At first Eli Lilly were going to install windmills but they thought that it would block the view so they thought of another environmentally friendly idea and it was solar panels! The first farm was such a success they have a second farm being installed. Thanks for reading our solar energy project and have a good day!
School Visit
Eamonn Judge came to our school on Wednesday November 23rd to talk about the use of solar energy in the Eli Lilly plant. Eli Lilly is a factory that makes medicines near us. Some of the parents in our school work there.
Mr Judge told us all about their new solar farm. We were shown a graph to compare the energy created in different months by the solar farm and a substantial amount, almost 700 Kwhs was created in June compared with close to just 100 KWhs in December. Another solar energy plant is being built in Dunderrow and Eli Lilly hopes to completely power its plant on solar energy. The rest of the plant is powered by ESB energy at nights and in the colder months as the panels do not have batteries installed.
The solar panels in the first farm are facing south in order to obtain maximum solar energy. The first solar farm has been so successful that they are installing another field of them, however they are not facing south they’re are some now facing west and east so the solar panels can collect more energy from when the sun sets and rises. Taoiseach Michael Martin opened the solar farm in July 2021. The solar farm of 12,600 panels spread over 16 acres is almost invisible from the surrounding area. The resulting solar farm costs about 5 million euros.
Due to the rise in energy prices this year the company have made back the cost of installing the solar panels much faster than they expected. They estimate that by the time the next phase of the solar farm is completed towards the end of 2022, the entire farm will reduce the annual use of electricity imported from the grid by Eli Lilly in Kinsale by an average of 20% .
We are doing this project to show that solar panels are effective, good for the environment and if we use them more then we won’t be burning fossil fuels, we will save money and help the environment. Some companies in our local area have shown that it is a good solution to the energy crisis and in the long term a way to change sustainable solar energy to electricity.
