CPFL Solar Plant Site Visit

The first field trip we went on was to a renewable energy company called CPFL energy, which distributes as of last year 40,645 GWh of energy annually to approximately 7.2 million consumers primarily in the Brazilian states of Sao Paulo and Rio Grande do Sul. CPFL produces predominantly solar based energy, although they are currently developing wind energy and thermoelectric biomass technologies to complement their solar production. Brazil is an ideal country for solar power implementation. This is because in the majority of the country not covered by the amazon, the mean annual global horizontal irradiation (GHI) is very high, especially on the coast, which coincidentally is where CPFL’s plant is located. The United States does not have as much solar potential, as our GHI countrywide is very inconsistent. In transporting solar energy from areas of high GHI around the country, you lose energy. Solar technology is expensive to develop and implement, so further research is needed to figure out how to lower the cost of fabricating the panels, how to minimize energy loss in transport, or how to better utilize radiation in areas of low GHI.  These advancements would make solar more economically worthwhile in the United States. 

CPFL’s energy output may seem immense, but I wonder what percentage of these consumers total energy consumption is satisfied by solar. I recently read that in Peru, there is a solar commission to provide free solar energy to 2 million of the poorest citizens in the country. However, this energy is not available all of the time. This made me question to whom exactly does CPFL’s energy go, if there exists a similar initiative in Brazil to that of Peru and if so, what is the availability of this energy.

Our visit started at their corporate office where we were educated on their company history and solar power. There are two types of solar power that the company has implemented and continues to develop: static panels and panels that adjust every five minutes to the angle of the sun. These panels are made from polycrystalline or amorphous silica and are arranged in arrays to maximize surface area exposure to the sun’s radiation. After watching Gasland and seeing the damaging and obstructive affects of hydraulic fracking stations, the solar panels seemed almost natural. In the surrounding areas plants and animals flourish, which reminded me of how clean and viable a source of energy solar is for the environment. The guide then took us inside of the plant, which was notably small; to show us how much energy the panels were receiving and subsequently producing. CPFL company stocks have been steadily on the rise in the past several years and they show potential to be the energy market leaders in Brazil according to their annual report.