Keilir | Courses in English

AASc. (60 ECTS) / ASc. (120 ECTS)

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General Description

As geothermal power plants become more technologically advanced the demand for highly educated and trained geothermal power plant technicians increases. These technicians are required to have an extensive knowledge and experience of operating, troubleshooting and maintaining the power plant equipment. Furthermore the technicians must have an in-depth knowledge of the health, safety, and environmental issues. The Geothermal Power Plant Technician Program — offered by Keilir Institute of Technology — is a two year program designed to address the growing need for skilled geothermal power plant technicians.

The Geothermal Power Plant Technician Program is divided into two modules. During the first year students receive vocational training in running and maintaining geothermal power plants. The hands-on training is provided in state-of-the-art geothermal power plants. The second year is more academic as the students learn methods and techniques for planning daily operations, maintenance and purchasing equipment/spare parts.

Throughout the program, students are educated/trained with a “sense of ownership“ towards running, operating and maintaining geothermal power plants. By developing this mindset – companies will get highly talented and motivated employees who will show more initiative, implement improvements and perform follow-up actions. The long-term impact is an efficiently run and maintained power plant.

Purchasing of equipment for the plants is normally accomplished through competitive bidding and typically the lowest bids are accepted. The manufacturers offer low prices relying on revenues made from the after sales services. But for the power plants the after sales services are very expensive which means that the operational and maintenance cost will be high.  

Hence, by instilling a sense of ownership and providing a specialized education and training for maintaining and operating geothermal power plants, the need for manufacturer’s service for maintenance and renew is reduced. In the program, students will learn how Icelandic geothermal power companies address this issue; for an example, students will learn how Sudurnes Power Company (HS-Orka) is able to efficiently operate its two power plants with only 26 employees.  

The program is offered by Keilir, HS-Orka, Reykjavik Energy and University of Iceland. 

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Applicant requirements 

Degree in power plant technology, diesel technicians, etc. 

Applicants should have work experience with power plant equipment or diesel engines

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Program Coursework 

Upon completing the first year of the program the student receives an AASc. degree. This degree certifies that the student has received the necessary education and training required for an entry level position in a geothermal power plant. The education and training during the first year is in the form of on-the-job instruction provided at Icelandic state-of-the-art geothermal power plants. The academic part is provided at Keilir Institute of Technology.

• Steam conditioning supply: Wells, total wellhead equipment, steam separator, control equipment. [5 ECTS]
• Measurements during operation Measurements such as well-, total wellhead-, flow-, temperature-, pressure- and chemical measurements. [5 ECTS]
• Reinjection: The reinjection of geothermal hot water, the equipment, plumbing, total wellhead and control equipment. [5 ECTS]
• Steam turbines Conventional turbines, binary turbines with condensers and other support systems. [5 ECTS]
• Geothermal storage tanks Operating and running geothermal storage tanks. [4 ECTS] 
• High Voltage Equipment. [4 ECTS] 
• DC equipment DC equipment and equipment used for operational protection. [4 ECTS] 
• Low Voltage equipment. [4 ECTS]
• Math. Calculus and linear algebra. [12 ECTS] 
• Chemistry. Corrosion & Corrosion control. Scaling. [5 ECTS]
• Data processing & analysis. [5 ECTS]
• Safety. [5 ECTS]

Upon completing the second year of the program the student receives an ASc. Degree. Hence the students will graduate with two degrees. The ASc. degree certifies that the student has completed the necessary education and training to take on the responsibilities of running, organizing maintenance, purchasing equipment and maintaining the safety of the plant.

• Geothermal Power Plants The fundamental organization – both internal and external. [5 ECTS] 
• Machine elements. [8 ECTS] 
• Thermal- and fluid dynamics. [5 ECTS] 
• Heat transfer. Heat exchangers. [5 ECTS] 
• Condition monitoring and maintenance. [6 ECTS] 
•  Inventory planning Planning and organizing inventory. Purchasing spare parts and services. [5 ECTS] 
• Project planning and cost analysis. [6 ECTS] 
• Geophysics. [4 ECTS] 
• GeoReservoirs Reinjection, chemistry etc. [5 ECTS] 
• Chemistry. [8 ECTS] 

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Contact Information

The program will be available from September 2011. For additional information please contact: arnbjorn@keilir.net 

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"Geothermal power plants will not be operated nor maintained by geologists, geophysicists or personnel holding MSc. Degrees. The plants are – and will only be – run by employees who have working knowledge of the principles and practices used for operating and maintaining of the equipment in the power plants. This includes knowledge of the working conditions, chemical processes, the machinery itself and the control systems."