while it's still fresh...

Today was one of those days when everything seems right in the world...while it didn't start out the best - I missed my bus, then took the wrong bus to make up for it and ended up arriving a little late for class (really not a big deal in the grand scheme of things : ) and the silver lining in my mistake was seeing a whole new portion of Aalborg) - the rest was perfect: done with morning lecture early, then for afternoon lecture, a field trip. Our group of 12 visited a biogas plant, a windfarm and a cogeneration plant. Granted, probably not the ideal afternoon for everyone, but for an energy studies student...

The biogas plant stunk. Literally. They accept industrial waste and "natural" waste, kept in separate storage tanks. The operator was kind enough - really, very kind... - to open both storage tanks to give us a whiff...mmmm. The brown stew looked about the same in each. Guess which smelled sweeter. : ) So, what I gathered is that the liquid is fed into a processor and gas extracted, then compressed to be shipped in a pipeline to a nearby cogeneration plant, which we also visited. Here, the biogas, as well as natural gas, is used to produce electricity and heat for the surrounding countryside/cities. The best part: the cogeneration plant is actually owned by a large cooperative of families.

Ahh...and the wind farm. Twelve elegant beauties stood in the storybook countryside. Blue sky, whispy clouds, gently rolling green - a crisp 60 degrees farenheit with a light breeze - so perfect. Turning, stretching, reaching for ground, then sky, then ground, then sky...750 kW a piece, so 9 MW in all. Like the cogeneration plant, these turbines are also cooperatively owned. In the 80s when the wind industry took off in Denmark, it was very common for municipalities and groups of individuals to invest in wind development. However, over time as the turbines get larger and more expensive, and support from the Danish government dwindles, it has become more difficult for communities to be directly involved in harvesting the wind. As our professor explained, this has caused a backlash against more wind energy development, with citizens viewing turbines as money makers for large companies (which they often are now). While I have a hard time imagining ever harboring a not-in-my-backyard mentality towards wind turbines, I can understand why communities may be upset with a shift in ownership - out of their hands...

The last stop of our field trip was to the house of one of our professors. Turns out he lives in a planned community with 16 other families. The heating for their homes is supplied by biomass (3 wood pellet boilers), in combination with solar panels. They have a common room where they all gather on Monday's to eat dinner together. Each family has their own home and he gave us a short tour of his, including the backyard, home to two goats and five chickens. Of course my professor lives in a commune and of course he has chickens...haha, I love Denmark.

In other news, I'm losing the battle against my cold. Sniffle, cough. So, tonight, I tried to walk it off. Yes, I decided that the cool, fresh air would be so inviting to the germs in my system that they'd decide to leave. Clearly, this is logical, so it should work. I'll keep you updated.

Finally, a conversation from the other night:

"We should probably go to salsa to meet the others," friend
"Perhaps we could stop by the Oktoberfest tent for a few minutes first since it is on the way," me
"Oktoberfest?" friend
"Oktoberfest," me
"Okay," friend
"Okay," me

Germany in Denmark, does it get any better? Pints of beer in huge mugs (Yes, I've resorted to using sentence fragments. Seems to suit a description of Oktoberfest). A band. Wearing short short shorts. See picture below. I bet you've never heard A) The Macarena or B) any of the Spice Girls songs in German. Oktoberfest also happened to coincide with an Aalborg versus (some team from) Italy futbol (soccer) match. Half the city was wearing the red and white Aalborg scarf/jersey and walking in the same direction pre-game (to the stadium) and post-game (to the bars).
To recap: Germany in Denmark and a futbol match and salsa all in one night. (Well, I didn't actually go to the futbol match, but as I've mentioned before I live approximately two feet from the stadium.) Very nice.

Anyways, 1 hour later...

"I'm so glad we decided to stop at the Oktoberfest tent," friend
Thank you very much.

Description of photos:
1) Oktoberfest 2) sludge 3) wind turbine 4) goat 5) wind turbines (descriptions which are totally necessary and completely scientific)