Energy Immersion

Sep 09, 2024 | Dartmouth Engineer

A collaboration between the Dartmouth Sustainability Office and the Irving Institute for Energy and Society, the 10-day Appalachia Energy Immersion trips enabled students to examine the legacy of coal extraction across West Virginia as well as the region's shift to a different future.

Students visit Cathedral Falls on Cane Branch, a tributary of the Kanawha River, a main artery used to transport coal in West Virginia.

"This trip underscored the political and economic barriers to renewable energy adoption in the region, and reiterated to me the interconnectedness of energy, politics, and economics," says engineering sciences major F.T. Chiu '26. "By engaging with community members in West Virginia, I gained insight into the multifaceted impacts of energy systems on people's lives and livelihoods."

During trips to the region in the past two years (after a pause during Covid), students across various disciplines—including engi- neering sciences, environmental studies, and economics—considered energy systems from a variety of perspectives. They toured Southwestern Energy and the Blackhawk coal mines, visited solar developer Solar Holler, researched environmental impacts to the Morris Creek watershed, and explored new biking and hiking circuits created on former mining sites.

"The people I met expressed a deep pride in their state and a genuine desire to see it thrive," says Chiu, "even though they see it through different lenses shaped by their unique experiences and socioeconomic backgrounds."

Mike King of the Morris Creek Watershed Association and WVU Professor Deb Buehler lead students sampling macroinvertebrates in the creek to study watershed health and impacts of acid mine drainage.

Joanne Liu '23 (from left), Alex Campbell '26, Ashley Laveriano '24, and Luc Cote '23 Th'24 go creek stomping to sample macroinvertebrates upriver and downriver of an acid mine drainage site.

Dartmouth Sustainability program coordinator Rachel Kent '21 tries climbing a utility pole; A coal mining manager explains the process to Constance Legrand '25 and Luc Cote '23 Th'24.

Hamza Najam '26 (from left), Caroline Mahony '25, Victoria Yang '26, Constance Legrand '25, Ashley Laveriano '24, Joanne Liu '23, Alex Campbell '26, Arden Borrup '26, Luc Cote '23 Th'24 pause during a tour of coal mining operations.

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