Presentation: Researching Renewable Energy for Wales

Slide 1 of 7 · Settling starter · Science · Year 9

3 minutes

Researching renewable energy for Wales: plan the research before anyone answers

You have a worksheet and a stimulus sheet called Bryn Ysgawen: which renewable energy? A village in the Welsh hills wants to generate its own renewable energy. Today you do not decide which source is best. You plan the research: focus the question, choose search words, judge 8 search results, and write a reference.

While the register is called: write your name, class and date on your worksheet, then read section 1, The brief, on the stimulus sheet. Underline 3 facts about the village that matter for energy.

Starter question: How far is Bryn Ysgawen from the sea, and which renewable resource does that rule out?

DCF: Producing → Sourcing, searching and planning digital content No computers needed · the search results are printed

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Hand out: one worksheet per pupil and one stimulus sheet between 2. No computers are needed: the search results are printed on the stimulus sheet. Bryn Ysgawen is an invented village. Results 1, 3 and 4 on the sheet are real pages; results 2, 5, 6, 7 and 8 are invented and must not be typed into a browser. If computers are available, pupils may try their own Step 3 searches in the last 10 minutes, but only after finishing the paper steps.

Say aloud: “Name, class and date at the top. While I take the register, read the brief, section 1 of the stimulus sheet, and underline 3 facts about the village that matter for energy. Find how far the village is from the sea.”

Starter answer: 30 km from the sea, which rules out tidal energy, because tidal is only possible on the coast. Facts that matter: about 400 homes in a valley in mid Wales; a fast stream, Nant Ysgawen, drops 60 m in 1 km but is lower in dry summers; an exposed ridge 1.5 km to the north-west catches the south-westerly wind, with a popular walking path on it; the school and village hall have large south-facing roofs; most homes are heated by oil.

Slide 2 of 7 · Today’s brief and key words · Science · Year 9

2 minutes

Your brief: focus the question, choose the words, judge the sources

You will check the science for 5 resources, turn “Is renewable energy good?” into a question about Bryn Ysgawen that can be answered, plan 3 searches using search techniques, score 8 printed search results out of 8, link each question to a trustworthy source, and write a full reference.

Energy store

Where the energy starts: moving air and water are kinetic stores, water high up is a gravitational potential store, wood is a chemical store.

Search technique

Quotation marks keep words together, site:gov.wales limits results to one website, a minus sign removes a word, filetype:pdf finds full reports.

Reliable source

Judged on 4 questions: who wrote it, when, why it was written, and whether it has evidence with figures. Score each out of 2.

DCF: Producing → Sourcing, searching and planning digital content A good sheet is full of questions, search terms and judgements, not conclusions

Slide 3 of 7 · Step 1: science check · Science · Year 9

7 minutes

Step 1: complete the science table from the fact card

Use section 2 of the stimulus sheet, the science fact card, and the brief. The Wind row is on the board: copy it, then do Hydroelectric, Solar, Tidal and Biomass. Every “possible?” answer must quote a fact from the brief.

Resource	Energy store it starts from	Predictable?	Possible in Bryn Ysgawen? Evidence from the brief
Wind	Kinetic (moving air)	No	Yes. The ridge catches the prevailing south-westerly wind. But a turbine there would be seen from a popular walking path.

Step 1 on your worksheet · 7 minutes Rule a resource out on evidence from the brief, not on opinion

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “The Wind row is on the board. Copy it. Then do the other 4 rows from the fact card. For the last column, quote the fact from the brief that tells you whether the village has that resource. Seven minutes.”

Quick check: Hydroelectric: gravitational potential (water high up); partly predictable; Yes, Nant Ysgawen drops 60 m in 1 km, but output falls in dry summers. Solar: energy arrives by light from the Sun; partly; Yes, the school and village hall have large south-facing roofs. Tidal: kinetic (moving sea water); Yes, predictable years ahead; No, the village is 30 km from the sea. Biomass: chemical (in wood); Yes if fuel is stored; Possibly, the brief does not mention woodland so we would have to find out, and it gives heat, which could replace the oil. Tidal is the only resource that is impossible.

Slide 4 of 7 · Steps 2 and 3: focus the question, plan the searches · Science · Year 9

13 minutes

Step 2 & Step 3: one main question, three smaller ones, three searches

Step 2 (6 min): “Is renewable energy good?” is too broad. Rewrite it as 1 main question about Bryn Ysgawen, then break it into 3 smaller questions: one about the science, one about the village, one about people, cost or the environment. Step 3 (7 min): plan 1 search for each smaller question. Short keywords, not sentences, and at least 1 technique each. Say what the technique leaves out.

Smaller question	Exactly what I would type	What this search leaves out, and why that helps
1 (science)	hydro wind solar output by month "capacity factor" site:ac.uk	Only university pages, so no adverts or sellers. The quotation marks find the exact technical term.

Steps 2 and 3 on your worksheet · 13 minutes Name the place and the real options in your main question

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Step 2: write a main question that names Bryn Ysgawen and the real options, then 3 smaller questions, science, village, and people or cost or environment. Step 3: one search for each. An example search is on the board; write your own. Use a technique from the table on your worksheet and say what it filters out. Thirteen minutes for both steps.”

Quick check, Step 2: a good main question looks like “Which renewable source, hydro from Nant Ysgawen, wind on the ridge or solar on the school and hall roofs, would give Bryn Ysgawen the most reliable electricity for the lowest cost with the least harm to the landscape?” Smaller questions, for example: how the output of hydro, wind and solar changes through the year and which is steadiest in winter (science); how much water flows in a stream like Nant Ysgawen in a dry summer, and how windy an exposed ridge is (village); what similar community schemes in Wales cost and what walkers and wildlife groups said (people, cost, environment).

Quick check, Step 3: accept any short keyword search with a technique and a correct reason. Model answers: "run of river" hydro Wales "dry summer" -sale (the minus removes companies selling turbines; the quotes keep “dry summer” together); "community energy" Wales report filetype:pdf (only full PDF reports, not short news or opinion posts). A whole sentence typed into the box, or no technique, does not meet the criterion.

Slide 5 of 7 · Steps 4, 5 and 6: judge, plan, reference · Science · Year 9

20 minutes

Step 4, Step 5 & Step 6: score the 8 results, write the research plan, write a reference

Step 4 (12 min): score each of the 8 results out of 2 for who, when, why and evidence, total out of 8, then decide Use, Use with care or Reject. Answer (a) and (b). Step 5 (5 min): link each smaller question to the best result to start with, what you need to find out, and how you will record it. Step 6 (3 min): write a full reference for result 1.

Result	Who	When	Why	Evidence	Total /8	Decision
1	2	2	2	2	8	Use. The Welsh Government’s own statistics, updated August 2026, with figures.

Reference format: Organisation (year) Title. Available at: web address (Accessed: date you looked)

Steps 4, 5 and 6 on your worksheet · 20 minutes Your decision must follow from your own scores

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Result 1 is scored on the board. Copy it, then score results 2 to 8 using the scoring table on your worksheet. Then answer (a) and (b), fill in the research plan, and write the reference for result 1 in the format shown. Twenty minutes.”

Quick check, Step 4: allow a point either way if the reason is sound. 2: 1, 0, 0, 0 = 1, Reject (sponsored advert from WindWise Turbines Ltd, “GUARANTEED” with no figures). 3: 2, 1, 2, 2 = 7, Use (Natural Resources Wales, the public body for the environment; no date shown but newest figure 2021). 4: 0, 0, 2, 1 = 3, Use with care (Wikipedia, anyone can edit, newest figure 2019; use its references, do not quote it). 5: 0 = 0, Reject (anonymous forum post from 2014, someone’s uncle’s opinion). 6: 1, 0, 1, 0 = 2, Reject (2012 news story about a subsidy that closed in 2019). 7: 1, 2, 1, 2 = 6, Use with care (real monthly figures from a village hydro scheme, but one scheme and the group is proud of it). 8: 0 = 0, Reject (video made for views, no date). (a) A published correction makes result 1 more trustworthy: it says what the error affected and how much the figure changed, 54% to 55%; it does mean you must use the latest version and note the date you looked. (b) The figures are for different years, 2019 and 2024, and may be calculated differently; quote a figure with its year and source, for example “Renewable generation was equivalent to 55% of the electricity Wales used in 2024 (Welsh Government, 2026).”

Quick check, Steps 5 and 6: each question should start from a result that scored well (for example result 7 for the dry-summer question, result 3 for the people and environment question), say exactly what to look for, and say how it will be recorded (notes with a reference, a small table copied exactly). The reference: Welsh Government (2026) Energy generation and use in Wales: first combined report. Available at: https://www.gov.wales/energy-generation-and-use-wales-first-combined-report (Accessed: today’s date). All 5 parts must be present.

Slide 6 of 7 · Self and partner check · Science · Year 9

2 minutes

Swap with your partner and check against the success criteria

Tick each success criterion your partner’s work meets. Then correct 1 thing: a search typed as a whole sentence, or a decision that does not match its score.

I can name the energy store each renewable resource uses and say how predictable it is.
I turned a vague question into a focused one about a real place, with 3 smaller questions I could research.
I planned searches with chosen keywords and at least 1 technique each, and I can say what each technique filters out.
I judged every source on who, when, why and evidence, and my decisions follow from my scores.
My research plan links each question to a trustworthy source, and I can write a full reference.

2 minutes · partner check Finished early? Why might the village choose 2 sources rather than 1?

Supply teacher script (no subject knowledge needed)

Say aloud: “Swap worksheets. Tick the criteria your partner has met. Look at their 3 searches: short keywords and a technique each? Look at their 8 decisions: does each one match its score? Swap back and correct 1 thing.”

Extension answers: 2 sources rather than 1: Nant Ysgawen is lower in dry summers, when solar panels produce most, and solar is much lower in winter, when a stream is fuller, so hydro and solar cover each other’s weak season. Claims to test from the low-scoring results: result 5 says a hydro scheme would never pay back (check against result 7’s real income figures); result 8 might claim something about wind turbines (check in a dated, named source). A fourth question about oil heating could be “What could replace oil heating in a village off the gas network?” with a search such as “off-gas village heating Wales biomass "heat pump" site:gov.wales”.

Slide 7 of 7 · Plenary review · Science · Year 9

3 minutes

Round the room, then quick-check answers before handing in

Everyone names 1 result and says Use, Use with care or Reject, with 1 reason, nobody repeats a result. Then check these answers.

Question	Correct answer
Which resource is impossible in Bryn Ysgawen, and why?	Tidal. The village is 30 km from the sea, and tidal is only possible on the coast.
Which 2 results scored highest and should be used?	Results 1 and 3: the Welsh Government report (8) and Natural Resources Wales (7).
Does a published correction make result 1 more or less trustworthy?	More. It says what changed (54% to 55%) and why. Use the latest version and note the date you looked.

Check your name and class are on your worksheet Worksheets in · stimulus sheets stay with the pair