Geothermal Energy in Iceland:
According nea.is, or the National Authority of Iceland, geothermal power facilities currently generate 25% of the country’s total electricity production. The use of geothermal energy in Iceland has grown significantly over the years and the country has been named the pioneer in the use of geothermal energy.
Even though Iceland is the pioneer for using it, geothermal energy has been used for thousands of years in some countries for things like cooking and heating up a home. Geothermal energy is power from the Earth’s internal heat. The thermal energy is found in rocks and fluids deep below the Earth’s crust. Many countries use underground reservoirs of steam and hot water to generate electricity directly to homes. Some thermal energy can be found many miles below the surface while some is farther up.
Wells, sometimes a mile deep, are drilled into an underground reservoirs to tap steam and hot water to produce geothermal electricity. The steam and hot water is used to drive turbines connected to electricity generators. There are three types of geothermal power plants: dry steam, flash, and binary. Geothermal energy can be extracted without burning fossil fuels and produce less carbon dioxide than natural gas.
In Iceland, geothermal energy has always been important to Icelanders since ancient times. Reykjavik, the capital, is an important place because the steam an hot water is derived from there. Geothermal energy was only used for washing and bathing before but now it is being used for space heating.
The “blue lagoon” is located about 40 minutes from the capital. This geothermal sea that is rich in minerals is located in the middle of a lava field. A geothermal power plant is situated right next to it, in to which they pump the water into.
References:
http://www.nea.is/geothermal/
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/geothermal-profile/
http://www.icelandgeothermal.is/iceland-geothermal/geothermal-development/
http://iceland.ednet.ns.ca/schedule.htm