Iceland’s Geothermal Power Uses

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Iceland has a rare geological environment that they use to their advantage. The country is located in an area with a high level of volcanoes. This also causes geysers, which help Iceland bring in tourism. They use the volcanoes to there advantage through geothermal technology. With geothermal technology the can use the volcanoes as natural resources to create heat and energy. In fact, they have been using this method for quite some time now and are actually leading the way in its development. To do this Iceland has developed five geothermal power plants, which account for around 26% of the nations total energy production. On a side note, all other electricity is created from hydro power except about a tenth of a percent, which is created using fossil fuels. The largest of the five is known as the Hellisheioi Power Station and puts out 303MW. The other locations, going from highest output to lowest, put out a lesser amount and are called the Reykjanes, Nesjavellir, Svartsengi, and Krafla Power Stations. Many Icelanders use the geothermal technology to create energy for their greenhouses.

 

 

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Sources:

– http://waterfire.fas.is/GeothermalEnergy/GeothermalEnergy.php

– http://www.nea.is/geothermal/

– http://iceland.ednet.ns.ca/schedule.htm

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