On 17 May, Energy Specialist students got the opportunity to learn more about the processes behind the electricity generation in gas power plant Maxima-centrale (Engie) and Solar Park in Vierverlaten (Gemeente Groningen). This amazing experience enabled students to complement their energy knowledge gained during the energy specialist courses with a practical view on complex operations on one of the most modern gas power plants in the BENELUX region and the newest addition to the renewable electricity generation portfolio of Gemeente Groningen, the Vierverlaten Solar Park.

At the beginning of the excursion, students were presented with both the challenges and opportunities facing an incumbent energy company, Engie. Experts from Engie discussed the changing strategy and a movement from fossil fuels towards more renewables with Energy Specialist students. Students too, as a part of Economics of Regulating Markets course, had the opportunity to present about contemporary issues such as 'Impact of Renewables on Electricity Market' and got a valuable feedback from the Engie experts.

As part of the fieldtrip in Maxima-central gas power plant, students had the possibility to experience how intelligent IT systems help to make the operations of a gas power plant more simpler, safer and efficient. During the visit of Maxima-centrale gas power plant, students have been confronted with different adverse scenarios that can occur during a regular day in the gas power plant, and how they can be solved. This was demonstrated in a real-time simulation at a monitoring and dispatch training centre of the power plant.

Furthermore, during the course of the energy excursion, the ambitious '2035 carbon neutral municipality goal' of Gemeente Groningen was presented to the students together with a roadmap on how the Gemeente Groningen plans to achieve its goal. This was supplemented by additional lecture from Engie on solar park development and financing, which enabled students to better understand the perplexities of building and subsequently running an efficient solar park in the Netherlands.

More information about the Energy Specialist programme can be found here.