Electric Grid and Climate Change
Provided by: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative|Published on: June 15, 2022|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 9, 10, 11, 12
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Physics
Authors: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
Location: Earth, North America, North America > United States
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This lesson from MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative about electric grids, electrical loads, and the sources and distribution of electricity in the United States includes an electrical load-balancing game, discussion, podcast, history article, worksheet, and interactive exploration activities.
- This lesson helps students understand that electrical grids need to be balanced and learn about the sources of energy or fuel used to create electricity in power plants.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- The podcast features an interview with energy management expert Harvey Michaels, who explains the inefficiencies in the electrical grid and offers solutions for decarbonizing power production.
- The load-balancing game offers a memorable and kinesthetic way for students to understand how electric power plants balance producing and distributing the right amount of energy.
Prerequisites
- Students who have access to computers and the Internet can use Version A of the electricity use data exploration activity using the EIA's Hourly Electric Grid Monitor. Students without access to technology can use Version B, which includes images of the maps.
Differentiation & Implementation
- This lesson includes several elements that can be spread out over a week or teachers can choose to assign some elements of the lesson (e.g., podcast, reading) for homework.
- After exploring information about their local power grid, students can make a poster, infographic, or short video/presentation to explain what they learned and propose ideas for making their local power grid more efficient and sustainable.
- Science classes can use this lesson when discussing circuits, resistance, energy conversions, properties of materials, or renewable energy.
- Other resources on this topic include this video on how to fix the unreliable power grid and this video on exploring the future of macrogrids and microgrids.
This resource includes a podcast in which an MIT expert is interviewed and discusses electricity generation and distribution and complexities related to the electric grid. After a brief introduction to electricity distribution, possible ways to incorporate renewable energy sources that are more intermittent that current baseline coal, natural gas, or nuclear plants are discussed. A transcript and educator's guide, along with additional resource links, are provided. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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