ISE Workshop: Energy in the Arctic

ISE hosts the Energy in the Arctic workshop, kicking off the 2017 Arctic Circle Conference

16.10.2017

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REYKJAVIK, October 12 – In anticipation of the annual Arctic Circle conference held at the Harpa, ISE proudly hosted a workshop titled Energy in the Arctic - A Firsthand Perspective. With over 80 attendees, the event was very well received. Keeping true to the theme of the Arctic Circle, the workshop focused on the sustainable development of energy projects in the Arctic, as well as the research cooperation agreement between Québec and Iceland. Focus on this agreement sought to serve as an international role model for trans-border research. See the bottom of this article for the full itinerary of the workshop, along with links to all attendees and participating institutes. 

As stated by Dr. Ari Kristinn Jonsson, Rector of Reykjavik University,

The arctic offers both great challenges and great opportunities in the decades to come. With the opportunity to build energy infrastructure, the challenge will be to address environmental and societal values while the guaranteeing the long-term well-being of those who live in these arctic environments, not just the corporations that invest in these projects. We must keep in mind also that the best solutions often come from unexpected places. We must not be stuck in our ways of thinking - innovation is key.

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Ari opened the floor to the following speakers, addressing the topic and scope of the workshop and was followed by Robert Sauvé, president of Plan Nord. Robert discussed the aims of Plan Nord and their desire for ongoing international collaboration. Dr. Oli Sveinsson, Executive Vice President of Landsvirkjun then shined light on the energy sector in Iceland, explaining its current state and beyond. Dr. Juliet Newson, Director of the Iceland School of Energy then discussed sustainable energy from the educational perspective, highlighting what ISE is doing to foster the next generation of innovators, leaders and change-makers. This wrapped up the first session of the day.

In the second session, after the attendees and speakers stretched their legs, had some coffee and traditional Icelandic kleinas, the workshop resumed at full pace with a number of technically interesting talks. Dr. Hakim Nesreddine of Hydro-Québec discussed the status of integrated energy systems for off-grid arctic regions, followed by Dr. Árni Snorrason, Director General of the Iceland Met Office who shared with the attendees the opportunities and risks of arctic energy resources and the climate. Next, Prof. Jasmin Raymond of INRS delved into developing geothermal technologies in Nunavut and Adamie Delisle Alaku, Executive Vice-president of the Makivik Corporation finished the session off with sharing innovative Inuit approaches to sustainability for the development of Nunavut. From here, the conference took pause for lunch and resumed shortly after.

The third session look a french Canadian perspective, with representatives from various institutes in Quebec. Prof. René Therrien of  Université Laval started the session off with a look at groundwater flow modeling in the Arctic, followed by Prof. Louis Fortier, the Scientific Director of L'Institut Nordique du Québec who shared with the audience his institutes role in Nordic development. The session was concluded with Dr. Maxime Claprood, Research Associate at INRS, who went into the details of stochastic reservoir modelling with limited wells and surface geophysical data. The workshop then took it's final coffee break before the final session.

IMG_20171012_154405The fourth session of the Energy in the Arctic workshop featured ongoing research topics from current masters students at the Iceland School of Energy. Peter Betlem, M.Sc., started the session off by discussing his 3D thermo-baric modelling of central Spitsbergen and the implications for gas hydrate occurrence. Laurentiu Anton, M.Sc. Candidate then described his work in developing an artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm that suggests design modifications to radially connected regions of a transmission grid. The session was then concluded with M.Sc. Candidate, Enzo Diependaal, who shared his work in modelling for isolated (Arctic) mining and utility grids.

The Iceland School of Energy concluded the session by thanking all speakers and attendees for their cooperation and support and is looking forward to next years workshop.

Session 1

Session 2

Session 3

Session 4

 

About Iceland School of Energy

By bringing together the best from industry and academia, Iceland School of Energy provides a unique, and comprehensive training for its students. A wide range of courses taught by the very best in their field open a broad spectrum of possibilities for students and allow for individual study designs. Focus is put on close collaboration with industry experts while maintaining high academic quality of the work.

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