Description
In this fun and addictive Monopoly-style game, students are the owner-operators of coal-fired power plants, competing to become the reigning power baron in their region. Strategizing to maximize profits and lower expenses, they must choose whether to buy clean-burning fuel or cheaper, dirty coal and implement cutting-edge scrubber technologies. When the cap and trade permit system currently used for sulfur emissions is layered in, as well as the other factors affecting real-life power plant operation–government regulation, NGOs, grassroots activists in the local community, competition in fuel acquisition, the limitations of available technologies–your students will get a memorable lesson in the complex challenges of energy production. Because many different strategies can be employed in the game, leading to varying levels of economic success, students will want to play this game over and over to determine the best combination of choices for reaching their own environmental and financial goals. One PowerBrokers game includes materials for 10 teams. The ideal team consists of two people co-owning a factory, with all decisions requiring full participation by both student-owners, but teams can be as large as four if needed.