Energía Hidráulica

After the weekend when the 3 other MIT students came up to tour the power plants in the north, I was flown to Reykjavík mid-week to tour the hydroplants in the south. There is a big river in the south, fed from the glacier, which has been dammed and that is where they get their hydropower. We drove around all day to like 5 different, yet very similar, plants. To finish the day, we went to a pool/hot tub place, which seem to be everywhere in Iceland. So, like my recent posts, I will just try to tell the stories with pictures, since I am still behind.
This is the first plant we went to, called Búrfellsstöd. The design is the work of an Icelandic artist, Sigurjón Ólafsson.

A sculpture by Sigurjón outside of the plant.

The turbines.

Cynth found the colorful-earplug dispenser.

Listening to the guide talking about the turbines and the plant.

Dials and knobs in the control room. Very 70s.

Looking out at water coming out of the plant.

Water spewing out of the plant.

Cynth was up to no good, as always.

Another plant, Vatnsfellsstöd, and a big reservoir and dam behind it.

The reservoir.

The opening to let water in, but it was closed when we went.

Jenn will save you if you fall in.

Cool artwork that makes nice music if the wind blows the right way.

Fun Icelandic sign inside the Vatnsfellsstöd.

Same saying as a sign from a previous post, but with a more graphic visual. And I guess it means Caution High Voltage.

The guy from Mannvit who drove us around and showed us all these cool places, Friðberg.

Our tour guide for Vatnsfellsstöd. We are inside one of the turbines.

Jenn was the only one who did not have to crouch while inside the turbine...

Then we went inside a generator.




Some things outside to cool the turbines.

The river after going through the plant.

The girls: Jenn, Gyða, and Cynth.

These structures are here to slow the water down when it is flowing from the dam. They need to slow the water so that it doesn't change the course of the river too much.

The top of the dam, with some water slowly coming down, meaning the reservoir is full.

Here we are talking about the importance of hydropower, and Friðberg is telling us about the history of the region.

The pool we went to in the middle of nowhere. And yet there were people there.

Well that was pretty much the end of the tour. I returned to Akureyri the next day and waited until the weekend which was the Verslunarmannahelgi, or the Merchants Weekend, sort of like Labor Day weekend.

Until next time, take care.