CPFL Solar Plant

The first site we visited was a solar plant company called CPFL ENERGIA that is currently doing extensive research on solar panels and their effectiveness. They created a field of different types of solar panels including stationary and sun tracking polycrystalline panels as well as stationary and tracking monocrystalline panels. The company also plans to incorporate wind turbines in their fields in order to gain as much energy as possible because when solar panels are not effective it is usually windy and vice versa.
                     
While I was on this site visit I learned that there is still a lot to learn about solar panels because they were unable to answer a lot of the questions we posed hence their need to do research with the field of panels. I also learned that wind actually lowers the solar panels efficiency. This lowers the overall efficiency of solar panels in Brazil because, according to the research done on them so far, when the sun is at its strongest the wind is also strong so the solar panels experience large declines in the middle of the day when they should be providing strong and consistent energy. I do not really have much thoughts on what the difference is in the US because we have such a varied landscape that it is hard to predict how they behave as a whole in the nation. Overall I would guess that they are relatively much more effective in the Midwest than anywhere else though due to the high temperatures and distance from the gulf coast but I do not know for sure. As for improvements, I believe that the research being done at the plant is the only way to really improve the technology because then there will be a firm understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of solar panels as well as the cost effectiveness of each type. In terms of this particular plant I would not change anything if brought back in the states because I think it is important that we get an accurate idea of the how solar panels would work in the different regions of the US. The only thing I would changes is instead of creating multiple panel fields next to each other I would do it in multiple regions all over the US in order to get an accurate understanding for the whole country instead of just the particular region where the plant is.

As for the policies that regulate these technologies both Brazil and US provide tax breaks and give credit to your electric bill if  you produce more electricity than you consumed which overall helps to promote the use of the panels. Brazil also has an overall push for an increase in solar power generation where as the US is still focused on harnessing the natural gas and oil reserves everywhere that it can find. Lastly, the environmental and economical factors were discussed on our site visit. The solar panels produce more energy and save more CO2 than used to produce them so they are an environmental upside and since they use the suns energy it allows Brazil to continue to sell their oil which is a huge economic upside as they are able to immediately reinvest and advance their renewable energy sources.