We left from our school at 8:30 am to visit a hydropowerplant in Kuopio. We got to see the plant from the inside. It was very cool. There were all sizes of pipes all over the building. We had a quided tour in different parts of the plant and they told us about different machines, how they work and what are their purposes. The powerplant was under renovation so there we a lot of people working with the machines. After the tour we had a powerpoint presentation about the history of hydropower and how hydropowerplants work.
After leaving the powerplant we went to the Puijo Tower to eat. We visited the top of the tower for about half an hour. The view was a disapointment, we couldn’t see anything through the fog. We also went to Matkus shopping centre for a couple of hours.
This trip was very nice and taught me a lot. It wouldn’t have been so much fun if we didn’t have these people, the students and the teachers with us. Thanks for this wonderful and fun day.

- Noora ​

Solar energy using the sun’s radiating energy as electricity and thermal energy. Solar energy is renewable, and it has exhausts only in the production of the equipments and in recycling. Solar energy in heating is typically used to heat using water and indoor air. Solar energy in electricity is produced with solar panels that change solar radiation into electricity.
Solar energy has been pretty expensive for a long time, but studies show that solar energy’s costing development is coming down in the next ten years to the same  level as the costs of the fossil fuels. The techonology of solar electricity is improving all the time, today’s solar panels produce energy also on cloudy days. Solar energy suits almost everything, building a solar plant is quick and you can save in your electricity bills and nature as well.  ​

Picture from pixabay

-Tiia

Hydropower is turning the kinetic energy into a form useful to people. Water power is a domestic, renewable and it makes no exhausts. Water power is cheap because it is long-lasting.
Water turbine was invented in 19th century. In the 20th century the most of Finland’s waterfalls were harnessed into production of electricity. The first water power plant in Finland was built in 1891 in Tampere. One of the biggest water power plants is the Imatrankoski water power plant. In the 1950-60s even 90% from the needed electricity in Finland was produced with waterpower. In 2012 Finland had over 220 hydropower plants.  
Hydropower plant’s action is based on that  a river’s streaming water has potential energy before reaching a waterfall. the energy coming from a waterfall is turned into kinetic energy. Stronger the river’s stream, more kinetic energy we get. When the water streams down the waterfall it proceeds into a turbine.
-Noora 

In the picture: Imatrankoski
http://www.esaimaa.fi/

Wind power is basically turning the air's kinetic energy (wind) into electricity with wind turbines. 
It is renewable and it has no exhausts to air, ground or water.
Wind power depends a lot on the weather. Tranquil days are no problem as long as only a part of the used power is produced with wind power and it is produced in multiple places. In Finland that problem doesn't even exist, because the Finnish weather is only rarely tranquil. 
In order to function, a wind turbine requires a wind of 3,5 metres/second, but when the wind reaches 25 metres/second, the turbines usually will be shut down, so they won't break down.
A wind turbine will used for about 20-25 years. 

In Finland wind power is a quite new way of producing electricity and it has kicked of very well.
In  2015 there were 124 new wind turbines installed, meaning the total of 387 wind turbines.
​From the full use of electricity on Finland, wind power covered 2,8 % in 2015. Not much, but more than last year. ​

- erika

Picture from riemurasia.net

​Geothermal energy is energy stored in the Earth's outer layer, crust. The Sun's radiation can warm up the first 15 meters of the ground, and that energy is also used, but geothermal energy is all about radioactive decay. Radioactive decay happens in the inner layers of our Earth and generates energy, which people use to make electricity. It's renewable and you get a lot of energy quite easily. 
In Finland geothermal energy is used quite often. 
Geothermal energy used in small new houses(Finland 2000 - 2012):

As you can see (maybe), geothermal energy has started to become popular and electricity is used less to heat up small houses. In Finland, at least.

I think that's about it. If you want more details, you can find them on the internet or check our student projects. Have a nice day! The next post will be up in a few weeks.
​- Tiina

As said about the authors, we're just a bunch of silly little girls from Finland. And we are a part of the Erasmus project, a project designed to inform people about renewable energy. The countries that are in the project are Turkey, Romania, Germany, Poland and Finland. 

So, this lovely blog of ours is written by Erika, Tiina, Tiia and Noora. We all are 9th graders from Mikkeli and we all have a optional media class, which is why we are writing this blog in the first place. All of us will post different stuff here about the Erasmus project. 

In the next few posts we will discuss about renewable energy. After that we will post things about the progression of the Erasmus project. Some posts might be about the Finnish style of living and our own lives, but we try to keep things appropriate. 
- Tiina