More than 60 year-eight students from Gladstone schools will look to the future of energy when they take an in-depth look at different energy sources during an Energy for Future Earth program run by the Queensland Minerals and Energy Academy (QMEA).

The students from Gladstone and Toolooa State High schools, Chanel College and Tannum Sands State High School will be assigned a ‘country’ and develop a 50-year energy plan to incorporate the mix of energy sources including solar, hydro power, biomass, LNG, nuclear and coal that best meets the country’s needs.

Supporting the students will be representatives from resource companies in Gladstone, some of whom have been a part of Energy for Future Earth since it first ran at CQU in Gladstone, seven years ago.

“ConocoPhillips, as downstream operator of Australia Pacific LNG, values this program for the effective way it expands students’ minds and makes them think about the energy we use, and how it’s produced,” said Robert Gibb, Community Relations Manager.

“Energy for Future Earth links directly to the term three science curriculum, which is why the program is so popular amongst teaching staff and students,” said David Fisser, Curriculum Leader for Science and Digital Technologies at Chanel College. “It’s amazing to see those light bulb moments as students understand the practical application of classroom science,” he said.

The program concludes with students presenting their country’s 50-year energy plan. Students must then take questions from the floor from other countries who are vying for the same energy contracts.

QRC is the peak representative body for Queensland‘s resource sector. The Queensland resources sector provides one in every six dollars in the Queensland economy, sustains one in eight Queensland jobs, and supports more than 16,400 businesses across the state, all from 0.1 percent of Queensland’s land mass.

The QMEA is a partnership between the QRC and the Queensland Government under its Gateway to Industry Schools program. It has 46 schools throughout Queensland.