Alternative Energy Field Trips Part 1

This week has been filled with field trips for our Alternative Energy course! Everyone seems to be in agreement that field trips trump classroom time any day!

Our first visit was to a solar energy company called CPFL Energy. There, Alberto talked to us with a slideshow he had made about the company, how it started, what they do, and about solar energy. This company has fields of solar energy panels that they use to harness energy. They are currently testing two different types of panels, ones that are stationary and ones that are programmed to angle toward the sun. We got to hear and see the panels move slightly while we were there which was pretty uneventful since they move so little, but still exciting! I was surprised to see how little it seemed to disturb the surrounding area because there were fields with cows, horses, and a lake near by. However, they were taking up a significant amount of space and the lines for the electricity it produces are large and ugly.They are eventually going to be using this solar energy combined with wind energy. The wind turbines have not been built yet however. I've heard the wind turbines are pretty loud and unattractive as well but in my opinion if it works they we shouldn't care too much. Alberto took us through the room that is showing how much energy the turbines are getting and how much energy they are producing. I don't understand electricity too well so it was a little over my head. I find the idea of solar power to be pretty exciting because as of now the sun is a renewable source of energy that will never go away. If we can find technology to harness this energy and use it efficiently it could be one of the cheapest forms of energy we have! This may not be the case for every country. Brazil is a prime location for use of solar energy because of the year round sun they receive. In the US not every part of the country gets the same amount of sun so it's not a practical option all the time. If we can find a way to manufacture these panels for locations such as Arizona and California for cheaper than China (the leading country is solar panel manufacturing right now) then I think the US could benefit economically from this technology. However, I do believe we need to put more research funding into making it more efficient than it is now. It's not a source of energy that we get much bang for our buck so the technology would need to improve before we could move forward with it!

The next place we went to that day was the company Bosch to learn about their Flex Engines. We received a tour of the facilities and then were given a talk on the company overall and then about Flex Engines specifically. Up until this trip I had never heard of Flex Engines so everything I've learned in class and from this company has been all new! Apparently, two thirds of Americans that have Flex Engines in their cars are not even aware that they do! It makes sense that I've never heard of it if most Americans who actually have it haven't either! It's definitely not marketed in America too much at all. These engines are designed to use a mixture of fuel to help run the car, not just gasoline. In Brazil, 80% of new vehicles are sold with Flex Engines! I found that to be staggering compared to America! This is because of the policies and governmental influence to lower emissions from passenger vehicles. These flex engines allow for a percentage of ethanol to be used to run the car because it is cheaper and less emission than gasoline. It is less efficient in energy usage which means your car will go less distance for the same amount of fuel. However, if you're lowering your CO2 emissions then this could be put up with. However ethanol is not a perfect fuel source and a lot of energy gets put into making it. Brazil used sugarcane to make their ethanol while the US uses corn. This fuel source is taking away from land being used for crops, communities to be built, etc. This use of ethanol is then only practical if our immediate goals as a country are to lower our emissions of CO2. The flex engine from Bosch is a good way to start that goal. If the US started to incorporate ethanol and E85 (85% ethanol and 15% gas) into our gas stations then Flex Engines could help to save money and lower the emissions in America too. Since many Americans already have this engine and don't even know if education about them should also be brought to the US. Maybe if people knew about them, knew it could help save money, and understood why it's important to utilize this technology then maybe it would start to help. I hope that we can eventually find an even better fuel, with fewer drawbacks to be used in these engines.

The next day we went to a conference held near the city about alternative energies, mainly solar, around the word. There were companies from all over the world there to help market and educate people about what their company does. Because many of the companies were just solar power they all had very similar products. However, there are many different steps and pieces that go into solar panels that I had not realized. Many companies do the whole process of from start to finish because the market is not big enough for companies to specialize in just one piece of the puzzle. It seems to me if some of these companies would merge and learn to use each others resources the idea of solar energy would be a more more viable option around the world. It also made me realize how many people are doing research and are building these solar panels that some day may become a reality in every persons home. I found the water heating systems using solar energy to be pretty exciting. If every american began to head their water using the sun instead of oil or coal sources, it could save on so many emissions into the air and would be a one time fee of installation. Yay on saving on electricity bills as well! We were tasked to talk to 25 companies, get pictures, brochures, and business cards from them and learn about there technology. This was a little overwhelming because of the amount of companies we had to visit and the similarities between all of the companies. However, it was nice to see the amount of people working on finding renewable energy by using the sun!