Day 6: Today we started our morning off with a lecture in the engineering building, Horst, where we learned about wind turbines. This lecture provided us with useful information that I will talk about in just a couple paragraphs! We then went on a campus sustainability tour at the University of Twente. This tour took us around the campus, showcasing the implementation of sustainability practices in their buildings, infrastructure, and amenities. The tour started at Horst as there is a “cool circle” in front of the building. The cool circle is a pool of about 10 million liters of cold water which us used to cool down most of the academic buildings on campus. The water is collected from rain water sent to a nearby filtration facility, Koelgebouw, where debris is separated from the water. Furthermore, the water must be cold so a cooling process occurs at night. In the summer, cooling machines are used to get the water down to 8 to 10 degrees Celsius while during the winter, the outside air is used. The water is distributed to the buildings through a loop system.
Following the cool circle, we looked at two sycamore trees which have quite a story to tell. These trees were dug up from the ground, were planted again, and are thriving once more. Per Dutch laws, for every tree you cut down, you must replace it, and depending on the size of the tree, is how many trees you must replant. Because these sycamore trees are very old, it would have needed a lot of news trees to replace it. After, we looked at the community gardens they have in campus. These gardens are open to students and faculty, and they can reduce negative environmental impacts, transportation costs and emissions, and waste. We then checked out solar panel covered car parks. These car parks and other solar panels on campus only provide 3.2% of all energy the university uses. The other energy comes from renewable sources and some non-renewable resources.
Once our tour concluded, we boarded the bus to Pure Energie, a wind turbine farm located just outside Dronten. The lecture we attended prepared us to understand the site visit even more. We discussed how sedated edges on the blades reduce the sound produced by the wind turbines from the speed of the blade’s tips. These edges have no effect on the life span or quality, but they allow for a reduction in disturbance. The blade’s tips usually spin at 92-100 km/hr so sound reduction is crucial to protect the neighboring environment. Also, the box in the back of the wind turbines, the nacelle, is roughly the size of four shipping containers! The nacelle is essentially the “brain” of the turbine as it stores all the generating components. Near the turbines, there are little man-made forests. These forests are used to check the underground water levels as this specific plot of land used to be 3.5 meters underwater! These wind turbines generate so much electricity, around 600 megawatts, that the company sometimes has to pay to get rid of excess or store it in batteries. This electricity powers residential and commercial areas across the Netherlands.
After visiting the wind turbine farm, we headed to Elburg, a preserved medieval town. Here, we were taken on a tour through the town and learned about the history hidden within the town’s moat! This town was gorgeous with the historic buildings, like the church, and charm exhibited through the architecture. One of my favorite facts: the old city wall was used to build houses off as it saved them the money of one wall. This face can be seen in the first picture! I highly recommend taking a tour through Elburg, especially if you love rich history.
We also met some furry friends along the way! Following the tour, we ate dinner as a group, got ice cream, and headed back to Twente. On our way home, we got to see multiple hot air balloons and the sunset, a beautiful way to end a beautiful day.
