Study Tour

Picture taken around Midnight in the mountains above Berunes, East Iceland

Now that the first trimester was finally over, it was time to kick back and relax for a few days. During our classes, we learned about cutting edge technologies, such as solar PV cells that can see 40% or greater efficiency, advanced hydrogen storage and fuel cell technologies, advanced Kalina cycle geothermal turbines, and 120 meter tall wind turbines. The purpose of the study tour is to ground what we learned in reality, so we can see what is the current state of the technologies that we learned about. While the study tour is not supposed to be as rigorous as regular classes, there is still a lot that can be learned from our visits. However, we did find the time to enjoy ourselves on our break between trimesters.
The trip was split into 5 days, and we drove around the Ring road. Our first stop was an aluminum smelter along Reydarfjordur (above), which was operated by Alcoa. Aluminum production is a very energy intensive process, so the smelter was placed in Iceland in part due to its abundant (and sustainable) natural resources.


The facility, pictured above, requires a constant source of electricity greater than 600 MW, enough power for more than half a million people! The white alumina powder is shipped in from South America, processed, and the finished Aluminum ingots are shipped to their final destinations throughout the world.

In order to power the smelter, a hydropower facility was constructed called Kárahnjúkar. The dam is controversial among some Icelanders since the dam's reservoir flooded much of a wilderness area that some in the country cherish as one of the largest unspoiled wilderness in Europe. The reindeer, above, are some of the animals that are affected by the project.
The rationale for building the smelter and associated power in plant in Iceland takes more of a global perspective. Alternate sites for the smelter would likely be in less developed countries, and the power would be generated by fossil fuels, such as cheap coal in China. By siting the project in Iceland, overall global emissions from the aluminum production would be far less than if the same product were made in other countries.

While driving across the south coast of Iceland, the class stopped at many natural wonders, such as Vatnajokull, Europe's largest glacier, Skaftafell National Park, and a few other waterfalls from glacier runoff.

Vatnajokull, in the background, deposits icebergs into the Glacial LagoonOur accommodations for a night in cabins at þakgil, between Vik and Myrdalsjokull Glacier. Most agreed that this was the coolest place to stay in Iceland.

Skogarfoss Waterfall

Outside of Reykjavik, the group visited a few geothermal facilities, such as the Hellisheidi combined cycle power plant, the Svartsengi plant, as well as two geothermal well sites. These facilities, along with a few other plants in the area, supply the capital region with almost all of its electricity, hot water, and district heating needs.

Hellisheidi geothermal power plant, outside of Reykjavik

In addition to power and hot water, the Svartsengi plant also has its own hot water well just for the Blue Lagoon spa and thermal bath, one of Iceland's most popular attractions.

One added bonus to the trip was a surprise visit to the Presidential compound, called Bessastaðir. The president, Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, said a few words about the work that we were doing and allowed a few questions from our group. Afterward, we were allowed to tour the compound, which sits on ancient ruins dating back hundreds of years.

What was mentioned here were some of the things that we did during the week long study tour. Many other site visits, such as the Icelandic Innovation Center, the Sorpa landfill biogas recovery, the hydrogen fueling station, and others were not described here, but were certainly educational as well! By the end of the week, we had a few days to ourselves to rest and enjoy the city of Reykjavik and its infamous nightlife. Some took side trips to the Golden Circle, others went to museums, churches, or markets throughout the city. After the brief break, it was then time to head back to Akureyri for the start of classes once again.

The Rest of May...

So yes, we sort of gave up on the blog for a little while. But, never fear, as we intend to finish it off now! We'll start with the rest of May:

The rest of our class time was spent wrapping up our final courses of the first trimester, namely solar power and wind & wave power. These are tremendous resources, and it was especially interesting to consider the challenges and opportunities inherent in their utilization.

With the end of those courses, we then had one week to prepare for our final exams for the first trimester. People seemed to spend their time doing one of the following: studying hard, procrastinating studying hard, or goofing off in general. Some of the studying became pretty intense when going over a few months worth of material, and it was nice to work in groups and enjoy some of the amazing summer weather during the "short" breaks.


I spent the first few days studying like a mad man and the rest of the week with some family visiting from Colorado. Highlights of that time included a trip to the island of Grimsey to cross the arctic circle and do some puffin spotting



as well as a bit of whale watching in Husavik.

The inevitable finally arrived, and we had a solid week of finals. Up to three exams per day for a 4 days straight definitely prepared us for hard earned study tour around Iceland.

May 4-11

This week was an introduction to Biofuels given by three professors based at the University of Akureyri. The class provided an introduction into how we can find new sources of fuel from sustainable sources. Most interesting was the second and third generation biofuels, which do not directly conflict with corn and other food production. Inedible plants such as switchgrass, Jatropha, and miscanthus can easily be converted into ethanol or other biofuels. Other residues such as corn husks and wheat stover and bagasse are left over from crop harvest and can also be turned into a usable fuel. Even the decomposition of trash, termed municipal solid waste, releases methane which can be captured and refined into biodiesel or combusted. Iceland has its very own MSW facility at a landfill near Reykjavik, which we will be visiting on the study tour in June.

The third generation fuels seem to show the most potential. This is where algae takes in ambient sunlight and is able to release hydrogen and other synthetic gasolines. Once this chemistry is understood, people might be able to 'grow' their own fuels in their backyards. Second generation biofuels even have a high possibility in Iceland, where farming grasses and other non-edible crops is common. As seen in the picture below, the terrain is very welcoming for grasses to grow, but not much else.

Prep for our whitewater trip

With the week over, Paul (pictured above in his kayak) had set up a whitewater rafting trip for the group on the East Glacial River about an hour west of Akureyri. The recent warm snap had given a lot of extra flow to the meltwater coming off of the glaciers in the highlands.

Those with the stomach could jump off the rocks into the water. The rules were that if you climbed up, you had to jump.

One group seen entering one of the rapids.

Your's truly riding the boat through a rapid by himself (all the other paddlers and the guide fell out)

One rapid (called The Green Room) was a bit too dangerous to paddle through, so we walked around it instead. It gave us a chance to see the cool gorge that the river had cut into the landscape.

April 27 – May 3

This week’s course was yet another Icelandic specialty: hydropower. Although a somewhat contentious topic for many around the world, hydropower in Iceland is huge due to enormous amounts of water. Of note is the recently completed dam in the east of Iceland, providing over 600MW of electricity to the multinational aluminum giant Alcoa. Icelanders are deeply divided. The reservoir for the dam submerged 57 square km and there are concerns of animal populations. Others point to the jobs created and a potential to create a new “Golden Circle” for tourists.

We didn’t make it to the Alcoa smelter this week but did make it to another Hydropower plant at Laxárvirkjun. Overall, this was a very cool place. To many of our surprise, there was an Icelandic mythology theme to the plant complete with figurines next to the turbines.


That weekend was a swing dance lesson provided by our very own Steve.


An intense game of volleyball followed in the newly minted Skjaldarvik International Volleyball Stadium.


Also, it has been getting lighter and lighter each night. This picture was taken close to 11:00PM.

April 20-26

This week was a very special week during our time at RES, and as a fluke was also marked with many coincidences. Due to the financial turmoil that has hit the country over the past 6 months, elections were moved forward to elect a new government who would, presumably, fix the country’s problems. RES had the opportunity to meet with, Mr. Steingrimur Sigfusson, the Minister of Finance, who was up for reelection. He spoke about how the economy was based on a sound footing, and it was only a matter of time before there was a recovery. He added that education is still a priority in Iceland regardless of the economic climate, and the educational aspect of life in Iceland has seen very little negative affect. This makes sense, especially since Iceland has one of the highest literacy rates in the world.

This week we learned about fuel cells and their potential applications. In addition to potential use in cars, they are also well suited for many other uses, such as energy storage units, backup power for hospitals (which was a thesis topic for two of last year’s students), buses, boats, advanced military applications, and even portable electronics. It is currently possible to power cell phones, laptops, and mp3 players by a fuel cell. It might soon be possible to put a small amount of methanol into a laptop and not have to charge it for a week, similar to refilling a cigarette lighter. In addition, fuel cells can be adapted to other sustainable fuels besides Hydrogen, such as biomethanol or biobutanol.

During the weekend we had a chance to take a day trip to Siglufjordur, one of the most northernmost towns on the main island of Iceland. The group stopped in Dalvik and Olafsfjordur along the way. A tunnel is currently under construction that will connect Olafsfjordur and Siglufjordur, which is surrounded by high cliffs on all but one side. The tunnel is not scheduled to open until next year. Coincidentally, the tunnel would be open for traffic to pass through for a few hours later during the weekend for the public to see how the construction has progressed. Unfortunately, we did not have that long to wait, so we instead chose to drive the long route on a gravel road, which took us 3 times as long and cost us a flat tire from the frequent potholes. The drive was still scenic, however, and we got our first glimpses (and touches) of the open Arctic Ocean.:

The city of Siglufjordur is described (by Arthur Frommer) as impossibly picturesque, and he is definitely right. Even though, coincidentally, the clouds lifted and the snow stopped right as we pulled into town, it was impossible to really do the town justice in photographs.

Since the town is surrounded by cliffs, avalanches and rockslides are a constant danger. To lessen this risk, the town built avalanche berms to deflect any danger to the town’s residents. We hiked up a few berms to get a good view of the area.

One of the town's main claim's to fame is the herring museum, that celebrates the town's rich history as the herring capital of the fishing world:

While the museum was technically closed until summertime, a call to the caretaker allowed our group special entry into the facility. Coincidentally, even before we called him to say we had arrived in town, we met him in the center of town right as we pulled in. The museum was surprisingly entertaining and very informative. The facility was awarded the best museum in Europe a few years ago, and even has two old fishing boats housed in it, which we were only too happy to climb aboard

Hundreds of these types of ships would bring back millions of tons of fish, which would be salted, iced, or canned and shipped all over the world.

By coincidence, our roadtrip took place on election day, and the only two restaurants in Siglufjordur were both rented out to host different political parties. Apparently it is common for the different parties to hold a potluck event organized local party members, and everyone brings an elaborate dish or dessert. We were told by one restaurant manager that he ‘Didn’t want to cook for us’, but by coincidence, we ran into the organizer of one potluck (organized by the Independent Party I think), who invited a few of us in. This is what we stumbled upon:

The food was amazing! If only democracy was this tasty in the US, it might be a little more exciting and encourage more people to vote. I’m sure people would definitely be more likely to vote if there were cake involved. Our group compared the various parties (and their parties) later on. Ironically, even though the Independent Party had the best food, they ended up not doing so well in the polls. Just goes to show that even though good food can’t fix everything, it certainly helps.

Week 11: April 13-19

For those of us who were in Akureyri for Easter, brunch was held in Skjaldarvik complete with some great dishes, vodka, and egg dying. This was a great way to finish off the break.

Notice the pink egg has a wind turbine on it.




Geothermal energy, a technology that has almost become synonymous with Iceland, was the subject of this week’s course. The significant usage of underground thermal energy to heat homes and provide electricity, combined with large hydropower projects, gives Iceland the distinction of having one of the highest percentages of renewable energy in the world (I think there is a small island somewhere in the tropics that burns a lot of biomass that just beats Iceland to number one).

It is easy to get the impression that one of the reasons for this is that the people here are just more eco-conscious than most of the rest of the world. Although this may have something to do with it, the fact is that Iceland just chose what was cheapest and it happens that this was geothermal energy. In fact, Iceland is terribly inefficient in terms of usage in most cases and even has an affinity for monster 4WD vehicles like this one here:


My point is not to take anything away from Iceland, but rather to point out that they, like the rest of the world, do what costs less. My hope is that the rest of the world will eventually realize that the cost of coal and gas is much higher than what is paid to the utilities and at the pump. The problem is we just don’t know how to quantify the external costs and long term impacts and we have problems charging for things that we can’t count. But as renewables continue to develop, they will become more cost effective and will eventually compete with fossil fuels, hopefully sooner than later.

In any case, this week’s course was great at showing how Iceland developed one of its most abundant natural resources and became a leader in the field. We even were able to take a trip to the geothermal wells providing the hot water and electricity for Akureyri.

Of course, it wasn't entirely business:


This week also had some interesting non-school developments. One of which was some homemade fireworks. Nothing too fancy, but enough to keep us entertained.


As you can see from the picture, the weather was less than perfect. Of course, this was a week when a couple from Spain came to visit and this type of weather has been typical when anyone travels to see us here!

The residents of Skjaldarvik were lucky to have some great Hungarian cake on Sunday while studying for the exam on Monday.

Delicious.