Thursday, December 28, 2017

Day 1: The power of solar energy

On our first day in Nicaragua, we saw solar energy in action at the National Nicaraguan Brewery and the American Nicaraguan School. We also visited the island Ometepe where we stayed with host families and saw a volcano on our ferry boat ride to the island.

Today we woke up at 8 a.m. and got on the bus to visit the power system at the National Nicaraguan Brewery. We observed their solar panels located on the company parking lot that power some of the small buildings. We learned about the energy consumption of the company with respect to the output of the solar panels and even got a tour of the brewery power control room and their production line as well.

Here is our first group picture before we head out to the National Brewery.



Next, we headed over to our next destination, American Nicaraguan School. The school also had a solar power system much different from the National Brewery. From here we were better equipped to ask questions about their energy system and we made sure to take extensive notes.

We took a group photo at the American Nicaraguan School.



Finally, We had lunch at a local pizza place and got on a ferry to our next location, the island Ometepe, where we stayed with host families. We were able to practice a bit of our Spanish and glimpse into the daily lives of native Nicaraguan families.

Here is a view of the Maderas volcano national park from our Ferry boat ride to island Ometepe.


Number of the Day: 174 petawatts—the average power the Earth gets from the sun constantly