Day 19- Reykjanes Peninsula- HS Orka Grand Tour

Today was my final official research day with a professional. It has been amazing to have these private tours of every facility I have visited and have had the luxury of asking any question that crossed my mine. This was truly amazing.

Thorgrimur, who is the health, safety, and environmental manager, picked me up at about 1 PM from my hostel and took me over to the first power plant, Svartsengi, the one by the Blue Lagoon. On the way there we talked a bit about the special geology of the Reykjanes peninsula and the unique waters they have to deal with. Due to these conditions and the increasing advancement in understanding how the water behaves underground here, they have been evolving their practices in order to make their operations more efficient, creating less impact below ground as far as the water table goes. They mostly harness the steam to heat up fresh water, while the steam provides electricity. It operates for the district of the Reykjanes peninsula, and its technologies have evolved for the last 30 years.

I learned that they have a total of 6 different power plants within that complex, each of them with their own function contributing to the larger system. Each power plant was built due to the advancement of the efficiency of their operations. Here, they almost have a closed loop system as they re-inject most of the water used. It is distributed from one area to the towns and is collected again from another area to be put back. This was very interesting to see and learn about because I haven't heard of such an operation as efficient as this one is trying to be. They have made a lot of progress which is amazing to see how it has evolved.

After, we went to the Reykjanes power plant, which opened in 2006 and is located right next to the Atlantic Ocean. This one only produces electricity from the steam- 100 MWh to be exact. It is always running full capacity, and most of it is used for energy intensive industries, such as aluminum. We spoke a bit about the physical designs of both power plants and how they are making efforts for make them 'blend' and become inspired by the surround landscape and environment, including the bore hole houses, which take a different form from what I have seen. The breadth in diversity among bore hole houses is pretty astounding. I had no idea they were all going to be so different. It is as if each company claims their bore hole through the house design. Pretty interesting I think.

They have also just finish installing a kind of science exhibit about space and energy and the evolution of man's progress with energy use. It was really neat to be one of the 1st to see it in its totality. They had an earthquake simulator, which was fun to experience as I have never felt the ground move below me. He also showed me what 'scaling' is. All of this time, everyone I have spoken with has discussed this issue with me. In my mind, I had imagine scaling as the scaling of the pipe as in contracts and expands due to heat and pressure differentiation between inside and outside. However, they had a sample of a pipe from a bore hole that experienced scaling. It is, in fact, the build up of a residue from the intense hot water and steam. The higher the temperatures, the more scaling there is. This particular pipe had a few inches of scaling in just 14 months. It was astonishing to see, and it is a big problem in the industry.

He also brought me over to the 'beach', or really, the edge where the lava field meets the Atlantic. From the power plant, they have a 50 degree Celsius man-made river that travels 800 M to the ocean. It is very hot water to be releasing out to the water at 4000 l/s. But, he argues, it is within 'environmental standards' so it is okay. I wonder if the waters around Iceland have been generally warming because of this attribute, as well as many others that I have learned about.

All in all, it was a really great trip! We did a lot in a few hours. Tomorrow I go back to Reykjavik for a few days before coming back to the US. Tomorrow, I plan to visit the largest swimming pool in Iceland, which is right down the street from my hostel. I would also like to stop by NEA and ISOR to say hello and goodbye to my contacts who were so wonderful. I don't know how I would have been able to do this without them, especially with the guidance and contacts of Thorgils. I will also spend some time reflecting on the last 2.5 weeks- what I have learned and what I hope to do with it.

Image 1: On our way to Svartsengi Powerplant- The body of water you see is the actual water table, at this point, we are in the very center of the ridge, it is also the lowest point (it dips down as you get to the center)
Image 2: Svartsengi Power plant- 4 boreholes
Image 3: Reykjanes Power plant- the 'dumping' area; threshold between culvert and ocean; notice the steam and registration on the rocks
Image 4: Reykjanes Powerplant- same spot, but looking back at the power plant and culvert; notice the steam bellowing out of the ground
Image 5: Reykjanes Powerplant- exhibition- an example of scaling in the pipe with Thorgrimur peaking his head through. The dark grey/black is the scaling or the build up of matter in a borehole pipe after 14 months.