Understanding Renewable Energy in Iceland

In a world increasingly becoming concerned about the state of the environment, moving to renewable energy is fast becoming propriety for many nations. Renewable energy has been touted as the best way to reduce the human footprint on Mother Nature.

As a solution to carbon emissions, the vast majority of renewable energy sources tend to have little to no carbon emissions. Additionally, renewable energy sources by their nature provide energy in perpetuity. These are all qualities that fossil fuels do not have. Fossil fuels are exhaustible and produce tremendous amounts of greenhouse gases.

Thus, in a bid to wean the world of fossil fuels, the world can turn to Iceland, a leader in renewable energy production. With a population of 330,000 people Iceland uses renewable energy sources to meet a substantial amount of its energy needs. Hydro-energy and Geothermal energy meets 85% of the energy needs of the entire country. The 15% of the energy needs covered by fossil fuels come in the form of transport energy and the occasional emergency thermal electricity supply.

What Makes Iceland Rich in Renewable Energy?

Iceland’s case is one-of-a-kind. The country, small as it is, produces a great deal of cheap renewable energy. Iceland holds the title for being the largest producer of electricity per capita. The electricity production stands at approximately 55,000 kWh per person per year, which is vastly superior to what any other country or region is capable of producing. For instance, in contrast to Iceland, Europe is only capable of producing an average of 6,000 kWh.

The ability of Iceland to produce vast amounts of energy is aided by the geology and position of Iceland. For instance, the island that is Iceland is covered by a vast amount of glaciers. No less than 11% of the land mass in Iceland is covered by glaciers. The seasonal melt of the glaciers yield glacial rivers that run from the mountains to the ocean, along the way feeding the numerous hydroelectric dams that have been constructed. Consequently, Iceland has been able to derive between 85% and 87% of its electricity needs from hydroelectricity.

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The rest of the 13% to 15% of electricity comes from geothermal sources. Iceland is located in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which lies on the boundary of the North American And Eurasian tectonic plates. As such, the country lies in a region of high volcanic activity. The country has about 26 high temperature geothermal fields that have a high potential to produce geothermal electricity. Additionally, Iceland also has over 250 low temperature fields and over 600 natural hot springs.

It is thus fair to say that the geothermal potential of Iceland is quite high. In theory, Iceland has the potential to produce 64 TWh of geothermal electricity when the resource is fully exploited, but the feasible amount of electricity that the Iceland can exploit is 25-30 TWh. However, as it currently stands, the country has only exploited 7 TWh from geothermal plants such as Svartsengi (46.5 MW), Hellisheiði (303 MW), Reykjanes (100 MW), Krafla (60 MW), and Nesjavellir (120 MW) power plants.

The Benefits That Iceland Has Accrued from Renewable Energy

Owing to the cheap nature of the energy, Iceland has been able to attract energy intensive industries. Industries such as aluminum smelting that require large consistent supply electricity to function optimally have taken advantage of Iceland’s electricity, and in turn, they have created employment.

Iceland has also been able to make a huge saving by negating the demand for oil and other fossil fuel related energy sources. It is estimated that the country has saved up to $8.2 in the period between 1970 to 2000 by using its geothermal energy.