The material is interactive and purposely designed to get students involved and excited about energy and the environment. The entire program works as a cohesive unit to increase students’ awareness of energy sources, safety, and conservation.

This material is designed to be exciting and engage students in real life experiences exploring the world around them. Students will be encouraged to think outside the box.

Every student from kindergarten through eighth grade will walk away from the APS Power Posse^TM unit having a great time, while learning important facts about the very energy our society is dependent upon.

For teachers, each unit is written with clear directions, is aligned with the State Standards and comes with well drawn instruction sheets that can be copied and passed out to each student.

APS: Leading Arizona into the Energy Future
APS has invested so much time and effort into developing these materials for our schools because we are deeply concerned about Arizona’s energy future. APS believes it is crucial that students know as much about energy as possible so they can make wise decisions concerning our energy use, our environment and Arizona’s future.

For many years, APS has been a leader in developing innovative ways of best conserving and using our energy. For example, APS has been a leader in electric cars and solar energy - all topics that students should know. In fact, feel free to share the next few sections with your students to give them a better perspective on their and Arizona’s energy future.

APS: Decades of Solar Energy Development
Everyone knows that the sun’s energy provides heat. Many people use that energy to heat water for their homes or to heat the homes themselves. The challenge has been to capture sunlight and turn it into useable, affordable electricity.

Since 1954, APS has been a pioneer in developing solar energy. That was the year when it helped to organize the First International Solar Energy Exposition, held in Phoenix. In 1973, APS helped to create the Arizona Solar Energy Research Committee and in 1981 the company turned up the heat on its efforts to transform the sun’s rays into a source of electric power with a number of projects.

By 1985, APS constructed the Solar Test and Research Center (STAR) in Tempe. Serving the research needs of both APS and solar equipment manufacturers, the STAR Center is the only facility of its kind in the United States.

In 1995, APS began offering the APS Solar Electric Service to homeowners who live in remote areas not served by a power line. These customers previously relied on such energy resources as gasoline or diesel generators to power their homes. This off-grid solar service provides the customer a photovoltaic system for a flat monthly fee that includes all service and maintenance. The cost of the service is about the same as homeowners would pay to operate, maintain and fuel their own generators. The positive side is that this solution eliminates the noise, smell, and inconvenience.

APS is still a leader in solar research and continues to focus its research on four key areas. These include:

• Power to meet the needs of homes and ranches in remote areas, referred to as “off-grid” because they are not connected to APS power lines.
• Solar energy as a part of the regular service for customers who are on the grid, meaning they receive regular service from an APS power line.
• Community power generation, where a larger solar plant would serve a number of homes or businesses in remote areas.
• Water heating for domestic and commercial use.