One of the things we did today was visit Fridheimar, a greenhouse that is run off of geothermal heating and renewable energy. This was a great visit. We got to see in person how this greenhouse is run and how it utilizes sustainable principles. One of the first things we learned is that they are located near a hot spring, and they heat the building solely through pumping that water around inside. Also, because Iceland has so much clean electricity and because it’s so cheap, they can run the greenhouse on entirely renewable energy. They have additionally made it their goal at Fridheimar to make their plant growth as clean as possible, so they don’t even use pesticides. They still have white flies that try to eat their tomatoes so they introduced another fly to eat the white flies instead. All of these methods put together basically mean that their only environmental impact is shipping in the bugs and seeds they need. The way they do things here at Fridheimar can help greatly reduce the environmental impact of farming in Iceland. This method allows for more uses of their clean geothermal energy, and it also reduces their imports of fruits and vegetables that grow in tropical climates. Side note, their tomato soup is a ten out of ten, I very much recommend it.
The scale of this greenhouse is impressive, it has 4,400 tomato vines and across all of their greenhouses, they produce about 40% of the tomato market here in Iceland. I am so grateful to be here on this trip. I love seeing the stunning landscapes of the country, all the rugged mountains and continent divides. We get to learn about their rich history, like the Althing, which is the longest running parliament in the world. Getting to see sustainable practices used effectively and at a large scale while still in college is such a great opportunity, because now I can go back to class with these ideas and share them with my peers and take them into the workforce when I graduate.
Swanson School of Engineering 