Reflection on Alternative Energy

Before coming on this trip, I only had a general idea about different types of alternative energy and their respective advantages and disadvantages from taking an environmental science class in high school. Throughout this course I have been able to gain a larger amount of knowledge about the technology involved in the creation of alternative energy from sources. Previously, I had not thought of the sun as the source of energy for wind or hydropower, but looking at the process as a whole shows the clear link between the sun and the possibility for energy use such as changes in air pressure or water flow. 

I also had not realized the scale difference between the various types of alternative energy. For example, the hydropower plant we visited had a maximum capacity of 900MW while the maximum capacity for power of all of the solar plants in Brazil is only 17MW. This helped me understand the need to look into increasing the efficiency of harnessing some forms of energy. It also made me understand why some forms of alternative energy may be more worthwhile to put time and force into due to the output.  Visiting the various power plants allowed me to deepen my understanding of the energy by seeing the physical process that the raw materials go through resulting in energy. 

I still fully support the use of alternative energy, however, this course has helped me to practically view these energy sources. It is easy to idealize alternative energy as one whole idea instead of the reality which is many different systems of gaining energy. I now feel comfortable with the differences and similarities between the different forms of alternative energy technology. I can see the similarities in the turbine spinning to generate electrical energy, but the differences in what causes the turbine to spin, whether is is water from hydropower or steam from solar power. Seeing the plants also helped me to understand how much work is taken into using these alternative energy technologies and why people argue about how worthwhile these technologies are.