EnerSolar+Brazil Conference

Wednesday we went to an annual solar energy conference called EnerSolar Brazil.

http://www.enersolarbrasil.com/en_esb/index_esb.asp

I was thinking it was an academic, research sort of conference, but it was actually a expo for companies involved in the solar industry. There were a lot of companies present, from all over the world really.

Many were consulting firms that you would go to if you had a project in mind, and they would help provide you with a complete solar solution, through their manufacturing partners.

There was a mix of photovoltaic and solar thermal technologies present. For those that aren't in the field, there are two main types of solar energy. Photovoltaic (PV) refers to collecting the sun's light energy with the familiar "panels" by using photons to knock electrons off of silicon and into a current. Solar thermal involves using the sun's heat to warm a fluid or object. Solar thermal is therefore typically used for heating, and not electricity generation, whereas PV can be used to generate electricity.

Me next to a solar thermal device, which can be used to heat water

There were also some concentrating mirrors, which can be used in conjunction with panels to focus light on a a particular area to reduce the amount of expensive panels required. And because many of the companies present do more renewables than just solar, many had model wind turbines as well. Some were pretty odd looking!

Each company was marketing to the fullest extent. The exhibits were elaborate and featured many prototypes, brochures, business cards, and representatives waiting to answer any questions you might have. There were small tables at many exhibits, and some were giving out free food, or even caiparinhas or beer. There was one company whose exhibit featured a tall waterfall down a solar panel. Overboard? Yes. Attention getting? Sure.

It was also a little overwhelming because most of the people were speaking Portuguese. There were people that spoke English well, but it was hard to find them sometimes. I talked to a British guy for a while though, he was pretty cool and I learned some things about the industry from him.