UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Andrew Gilbert is a senior majoring in energy engineering, a field he was driven to for two reasons: the complex yet crucial harmony of different facets of the energy system working in unison to provide affordable, sustainable and reliable energy to society; and the necessity that his generation transform this system to one that’s carbon neutral.

“It's all interconnected and all the technologies need to work together,” Gilbert said. “It's a beautiful harmony and that’s what I find fascinating.”

This spring break – as he joined 13 other students and three faculty members on a seven-day sustainability tour of New Zealand – Gilbert saw his future. The trip is part of a three-credit Sustainable Energy in New Zealand course offered by Derek Elsworth, G. Albert Shoemaker Chair in Mineral Engineering.

On the trip, Gilbert witnessed the island nation’s progress towards its pledge for 100 percent renewably generated electricity by 2035. At 84 percent in 2020, it’s a leader on that front. When he enters the field, Gilbert wants to guide the United States on that same path.

“Courses like this are the most important,” Gilbert said. “Everyone needs to learn thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, and all these extremely important foundational classes. But whenever you get to go out, shake hands, see things in the real world, not just on paper, that gives you a unique opportunity to learn and ask questions in a way that the classroom can’t provide. An experience like this in a place like New Zealand is unforgettable.”

Students toured traditional and renewable energy facilities such as a coal-fired power plant, a wind farm (New Zealand, situated in the Roaring Forties, is ideal for wind power generation), geothermal and hydro energy plants, among others. They also witnessed the nation’s massive agriculture industry known for dairy and meat. New Zealand is challenged with solving emitters from its agriculture industry, which is responsible for half its greenhouse gas emissions.

Erika Lenhart, who is graduating with a degree in energy engineering with a minor in electrochemical engineering, took the course because she was interested in seeing how nations decarbonize. She said New Zealand is unique in terms of energy because of its vast renewable resources, but its agriculture industry – where many citizens’ livelihoods are at stake – parallels the U.S. and many other nations.

“New Zealand is unusual because they have so much agriculture. All you see when you drive around are sheep and cows,” Lenhart said. “It was interesting to see their commitment to trying to find solutions for this industry that’s also a massive emitter of the greenhouse gas methane.”

She just landed a job at PPL Electric Utilities and has been chatting with people in the distribution and transmission groups as they plan for modernizing the grid to accommodate a greater percentage of renewables.

Akhdan Mir, who is graduating with a degree in energy engineering, has been researching New Zealand’s Battery Project, which is designed to help solve energy generation during the “dry years” and assist with peak power times. He also has minors in engineering leadership development and environmental engineering.

The project is one of the final efforts of the course. After spending the semester learning about global energy challenges, students visit New Zealand, and then investigate a sustainable solution for a particular problem.

Mir, who will join CMTA Energy Solutions after he graduates in May, was interested in seeing how New Zealand quickly pivoted to renewable technology in a cost-effective manner. That’s something he hopes to help do in the United States. At CMTA, he’ll be designing cost-effective sustainable retrofitting plans for existing buildings.

“I took the course because I wanted to know how New Zealand could accomplish so much so quickly. I wanted to learn how countries like ours could mirror that,” Mir said.

Elsworth, who has been offering the course for about a decade, says a lot of the sites students see aren’t unique to New Zealand. But the nation can showcase so many of the technologies in such close proximity. The travel abroad component – where students learn while checking off a bucket list experience – is another selling point for the course.

He said this trip featured a diverse group of students from various backgrounds, including geosciences and various engineering majors such as materials science and engineering, each offering a different perspective on the energy challenges.

“It was a great group of students. They were very engaged and great ambassadors for Penn State and their respective countries,” Elsworth said.