Swanson School of Engineering

This summer I have the amazing opportunity to go to Brazil as part of the program Energy and Electrification: Brazil. Before leaving to go on this trip, I got to learn more about the program, the schedule, and meet my peers! Before this, I had a slight idea of what we would be see, one of these things being the world’s largest hydropower plant known as the Itaipu Dam, but I did have the whole picture. It wasn’t until my predeparture meetings that I learned that Brazil’s renewable energy does not stop at hydropower but consist of solar and wind power. I had some prior knowledge of solar power before the meetings and this trip through job experience, so I was excited to see real world applications of this in another country! Additionally, I have heard of hydropower before but had little understanding of how hydropower produced electricity. Through our predeparture meeting, I was able to get a better understanding of this application and the logistics that go into creating a hydropower plant. This lecture also helped me understand why dams and hydropower are not utilized in every country. Key factors like elevation and rain percentage are key factors that must be consider if you want a efficient dam. This gave me a better understanding of why hydropower is not a type of renewable energy used all around. I am looking forward to the start of this trip, learning more about renewable energy, and exploring a new country! Brazil here we come!