Friday, December 29, 2017

Day 2: New power of Nicaragua

Today, we visited a power plant on Ometepe Island, visited a wind turbine graveyard, and took a break by swimming in a mineral sprint that allegedly restores youth and cures ailments.
Today, we visited a power plant on Ometepe Island. It used to provide all of the electricity to the island until last year when they ran an underwater cable from the mainland. We also learned about the difference between power usage in Minnesota and on Ometepe. A house on Ometepe Island uses only about 40 kWh a year vs. 9,000 kWh in Minnesota.



Next, we visited a wind turbine graveyard owned by the same power company. The wind turbine was initially installed to provide a second source of power on the island, but the project was abandoned when they discovered the cost of the generator to hook it up to the grid was not worth the revenue from the power generated.



For a break from learning, we had lunch and swam at a mineral spring that allegedly restores youth and cures ailments. We were told of its amazing qualities, including curing bad backs, old age, and even bad moods. In the evening, we returned to our host families for a dinner prepared by the community and were treated to a cultural dance by a local group.



Number of the Day: 15 terawatts—average power from fossil fuels that Earth uses constantly