Iceland’s Thermoelectric Power

Introduction

Iceland has a very unique advantage over other countries in terms of domestic energy supply. The country happens to be located on a geographical sweet spot. Traditionally, we assume this means they are living above a sea of oil or coal, but this is not the case. Iceland is fortunate because they  live on a global hot spot. The heat radiates from the land, littering the country with hot springs and volcanic activity. This is fortunate because the natural heat can be captured to produce geothermal energy, which is  a both clean, and renewable power source. So, where does this natural heat come from, and why does Iceland get all of it?

Why Iceland?

The earth’s crust can be considered as tectonic plates, which constantly interact with the liquid magma mantle that lies below it. The process of subduction and convection keeps the tectonic plates moving above the mantle like an incredibly slow conveyor belt–subduction pushes one plate below another and into the mantle, while convection pulls plates apart, allowing for hot magma to rise and cool to form new land. The atlantic ocean as we know it was created due to this process, and just like the ocean that surrounds it, Iceland is also the product of convection. The mid atlantic ridge splits the country in two, and the convection activity makes the heat from the earth’s mantle very accessible from the surface.

Utilization

Iceland does not take this natural resource for granted, and has done an amazing job utilizing it. Since heat is so accessible, almost half of the heat harnessed is pumped directly from the land into the space heaters of local homes. A total of 40% of the heat harnessed is transformed into electric power. The other majority of the heat is transformed into electricity. This initiative is a success story similar to the thriving solar industry in Germany. With the nurturing finances of the Icelandic government, a whole new market in geothermal utilities was allowed to stabilize, and has all but replaced the demand for fossil fuel energy. Today, between heat and electric output, the heated ground satisfies half the island’s total energy demand. Incredibly, the other 49 percent is drawn from different renewable sources such as hydroelectric dams. This is an amazing accomplishment for a country so riddled with natural sources of clean energy. Yet Icelander’s still look to the future with greater goals, and profits in mind.

Innovation

With the combined effort of geothermal companies and the Icelandic government, research is being conducted in the use of supercritical steam power

for the geothermal plants. The Iceland Deep Drilling Project aims to use the hotter spots deeper in the convection ridge to harness supercritical steam. This method, previously used in nuclear energy, is projected to increase the efficiency of the turbines by a factor between 5 and 10 times its current output.

With an endless source of energy, Iceland is now looking to profit from its geothermal energy bank, by exporting electricity. It has found demand in Britain, who is in need of a constant flow of power to supplement their intermittent wind turbine output. The result is the prospect of a 600 mile long, 1 gigawatt capacity cable running in the sea between the two nations. If accomplished this would be an amazing deal of  for both countries energy interests, as well as an even more efficient utilization of Iceland’s natural geothermal resources.

Sources

“Geothermal.” Orkustofnun. National Energy Authority, n.d. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.

Mims, Christopher. “One Hot Island: Iceland’s Renewable Geothermal Power.” Scientific American. Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2008. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.

E.L. “Power under the Sea.” The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 20 Jan. 2014. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.

Runyon, Jennifer. “Geothermal Energy in Iceland: Too Much of a Good Thing?” Geothermal Energy in Iceland. Renewable Energy World, 4 Mar. 2013. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.