W04 Paper: Carbon Footprint 1

Title: W04 Paper: Carbon Footprint

Name Jose Eduardo Callaù Silva

Brigham Young University-Idaho

 W04 Paper: Carbon Footprint 2

Based on your results from the carbon footprint calculator, choose one of the prompts below to
discuss in your paper. Please include your carbon footprint as part of your discussion. 

 From what sources does your power company produce its electricity? To improve your
carbon footprint, what other energy sources should you or your power company use in the
future?  Why?

I live in the city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra Bolivia.

At the moment in my country nuclear plants are not used to produce electricity, electricity is
generated from hydraulic, wind and combustion plants.

Currently the electricity we consume in my city comes from the Huaracachi Power Plant, which
is in another city called Cochabamba. But it is marketed by the CRE electricity cooperative.

(Guaracachi Thermoelectric)

The Huarcachi power plant is a thermoelectric plant, it is located next to the Huaracachi lagoon
in the city of Cochabamba, that lagoon is exclusively dedicated to the production of electricity.

But in 2019 the Government inaugurated another Thermoelectric Plant in the city of Warnes, a
city just next to our city of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, this plant will produce 200 megawatts (MW)
of electrical energy to the National Interconnected System (SIN).

The investment of this Thermoelectric Plant was 171 million US dollars, and it was built in just
20 months. Unfortunately, this Plant will consume 50 million cubic feet of water per day.
 W04 Paper: Carbon Footprint 3

(Warnes Thermoelectric)

It works like this:

1.- There are some large boilers that are heated by fossil fuels, gas or diesel. These boilers
evaporate the water, converting the steam into a great force of expulsion.

2.- The steam goes at a high speed towards a turbine that generates mechanical energy and that
through an alternator transforms it into electrical energy.

3.- Then the steam goes to a cooling tower to be reused.

4.- The fumes coming from the combustion in the boiler are purified before expelling them
through the chimney. ((In this link explain in detail the process
https://www.sostenibilidadedp.es/pages/index/proceso-de-produccion-de-una-central-termica))

My city is characterized by constantly having strong winds, which exceed 100 km per hour ((See
this link https://www.paginasiete.bo/sociencia/2015/8/8/vientos-causaron-alarma-emergencias-
santa- cruz-65866.html)), so I think we should also invest in wind power plants, there will be less
pollution.

At the moment I do not want my country to use nuclear energy to generate electrical energy,
because we do not yet have a competent inspection to comply with all security protocols. I think
we should continue using thermoelectric plants for now, because we have enough natural gas