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Biannual Publication of the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering
Iceland Inspires Sustainable Energy Innovations for Swanson School Students By Nichole Faina
Clad in construction helmets and electric green safety vests, 22 Pitt students walked onto a snow-packed field dotted with chrome geodesic domes linked by a maze of pipes. They arrived in the otherworldly landscape of the Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant just hours after their plane touched down in Keflavík, Iceland. It was day one of the University’s spring recess, but these students were engaged in learning. This semester, the Swanson School of Engineering launched Sustainable Engineering in Iceland: Culture, History and Innovation, a three-credit course taught by Matt Barry, an associate professor of materials and mechanical science. The study abroad course, which combined classroom lessons and a week-long field experience, was Pitt’s first faculty-led excursion to Iceland. “Iceland’s ethos is conservation. Their technology, their commitment to carbon neutrality and their drive to make processes better is inspiring,” said Barry. “My goal was to have students gain a holistic understanding of Iceland’s engineering practices, including the influences of history and culture,” he added. Students spent spring break touring highlights of eastern and southern Iceland, including glaciers,
black sand beaches and a volcanic crater – the Northern Lights even made an appearance. Daily, they reflected on their adventures in an online travelogue, and you can read all of their reports on the course site.
Lessons from the Ground Iceland is an island about the size of Kentucky. Still, it plays an outsize role in global geothermal ingenuity. Most simply, geothermal energy extraction taps into the Earth’s crust, bringing hot water and steam to the surface. This technology has countless applications: Hot water can be diverted to homes and greenhouses for heating and channeled under sidewalks and roads to melt ice and snow. Steam is used to drive turbines and generate electricity. Geothermal sources currently account for 66% of Iceland’s primary energy use. The nation also hosts the Unesco Geothermal Training Programme to support developing countries’ adoption of geothermal technology. Iceland’s geological makeup makes it uniquely suited to produce geothermal energy, said Barry. The country is one of the most active volcanic regions on Earth thanks to its location over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge where North American and Eurasian tectonic plates are slowly drifting apart, making space for magma in the Earth’s interior
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to flow upwards – that’s a very powerful heat source warming surrounding rocks and water. On their visit to the Hellisheidi Geothermal Power Plant, one of the world’s largest producers of geothermal energy, students got an up-close look at production by touring the inside of one of the geodesic domes on site. The domes house wellheads where carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide, byproducts of geothermal energy production, are added to groundwater and injected below ground for carbon capture and storage, ensuring the plant’s energy production produces almost zero emissions. “Before studying in Iceland, I rarely heard geothermal energy mentioned, and I didn’t understand how it could sustain a country. Seeing how Iceland has harnessed the Earth’s natural energy was astounding,” said Chris Ash, a sophomore mechanical engineering student. continued on page 6 > > >