New Zealand
Kiwi Power: Exploring Energy Generation, Usage and Renewable Energy Projects in New Zealand
Dates of Instruction: August 21 to September 15, 2006
Program Director: Kevin Hodgson
New Zealand is a very beautiful but isolated country with a relatively small population of 4 million people. New Zealanders are deeply invested in protecting the great and diverse natural beauty of their country. However, due to a booming economy and population growth coupled with depleted natural gas supplies and no crude oil reserves, many in New Zealand believe that the country is heading into some form of “energy crisis”.
Because of this potential energy crisis and the relative lack of indigenous fossil fuels, New Zealand has embarked on a course of identifying alternatives to the use of fossil fuels to provide at least some of the country’s growing energy needs. Due to the geography, hydroelectric power is a natural source of renewable energy, but has almost reached its usable limit within the country. Some geothermal power generation has been put in, and potentially more could be harnessed. Currently, there is considerable interest in NZ for developing power generation from solar, wind, biomass, and potentially even tidal sources. In general, renewable energy is a rallying theme to many New Zealanders, and will undoubtedly play a much more significant role in future energy generation in the country.
This course will embark on an extensive field analysis revolving around the energy production, use, and directions in New Zealand:
- The needs of a small, but very developed and advanced society
- The pattern of energy use: what is the history, and how it is changing
- The current distribution of how energy is generated in NZ
- Status of efforts to develop more renewable energy sources: wind, solar, hydro, biomass, and geothermal
- Prognosis for NZ being able to meet its growing energy needs without needing massive increases in imported fossil fuels
The course will begin with introductory lectures on NZ geography, natural resources, and energy production by faculty at the University of Waikato in Hamilton. We will then undertake a series of field trips to various energy generation sites in virtually all parts of the country - which also happen to occupy some of New Zealand’s most beautiful landscapes. The course will begin on the North Island with arrival in Auckland, and conclude on the South Island, with departure back to the US from Christchurch. We will travel to the South Island by ferry across the famous Cook Strait. Planned facilities to visit include: an oil refinery, natural gas power plant, geothermal power plant, hydroelectric dams, methanol production plant, biomass facility, wind farm, pulp and paper facility, and solar PV installation.
This course will be taught by Dr. Kevin Hodgson, Professor of Paper Science and Engineering and Chemical Engineering. Dr. Hodgson lived and worked in New Zealand from January to July 2004 as a Fulbright Senior Scholar. He will assisted by faculty members and graduate students in New Zealand.
Participants will receive 5 credits in Environmental Science and Resource Management (ESRM 489 – Foreign Study). Participants should check with their academic advisors to determine how these credits may apply to their major requirements. Student Costs:
$ 2,700 Program Fee
$ 200 IPE fee
Additional costs include round trip travel to New Zealand, meals, health insurance and vaccines, course materials and personal expenses.
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