Publishing
{What happened today?}
We started the day by listening to a panel discussion on Affordable and Clean Energy which is the 7th UN goal on sustainable development. After that, we each went to our assigned workshops. I attended a workshop on Energy Explorations in the Windy City. We were tasked with designing a windmill that could generate Electricity from Wind. After that, we went to Invenergy to look at the designs of windmill and solar panels. It was cool to look at them as there are no windmill farms and solar panel farms in Singapore due to the lack of space. The journey to and fro the farm was one of the longest I have ever been on- the total journey was 4 hours. When we reached, we had a indoor barbeque party which was more of a buffet style. As usual I ate my tom yum cup noodles :) . Since we had extra time after dinner, we played monkey in the middle together with NUS High, Lorenzo (Phillipines) and our teachers. It was really fun that we get to bond together. We also played 'volleyball' after that. After the games, we went to watch a international celebration concert where the schools that participated in ISSF showcased their culture. We joined most of the mass dance performances. The group that got the most responses was KAIST since they had a kpop quiz and there were many Kpop enthusiasts among the audience. After the concert, we had ice cream and returned to the room to watch a short video with Ritsumeikan and NUS High.
Processing
{What is the cause of the success or failure?}
The success of harnessing electricity from our manmade windmill was because of our teamwork and previous knowledge from the angles of windmill panes. For our recreational activity (the monkey in the middle and volleyball), teamwork and communication is key to success.Overall, I felt that a lot of time was wasted on travelling and not many things could be learnt at Invenergy itself.
Generalising
{What have you learnt?}
From the panel, an interesting statistic that I leart is that 1in 6 people on the planet do not have access to electricity. That is like more that the whole of Europe and North America living without power. Mass production is easier and poverty is easier to lift in cities.
Food for thought..
(1) Think of how to increase the minimum income of the world.
(2) Think of how to harness natural gas to generate electricity as natural gas produces 1/3 carbon footprint for the same amount of megawatts produced as coal.
(3) Come out with ideas to replace traditional methods especially since the cost of renewable energy is reducing to the same cost as traditional energy.
From the workshop, I learnt that the tail of a windmill helps the windmill to turn and face the direction of wind, to make it more applicable to real life contexts where wind directions change constantly.
Applying
{What would you do in the future?}
In future, I would like to read up more on renewable energy in the context of Singapore so that I can help the hidden less fortunate in our hometown.
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