History in Iceland
Iceland offers impressive statistics when it comes to renewable energy, as 72% of Iceland‘s total energy supply comes from renewable sources. Nowhere in the world does geothermal energy contribute as great a part of a nation‘s energy supply. Geothermal energy provides for 50% of Iceland‘s total energy consumption, with power supply from geothermal energy sources increasing tenfold from 1997 to 2007. Around 89% of Iceland’s substantial district heating need is met with geothermal resources. Iceland’s successful utilization of renewable energy sources contributes substantially to a strong economy, clean environment and high quality of life.
For generations, Icelanders have relied on nature to power their existence. The harnessing of renewable energy sources is neither a trend in Iceland nor a way to achieve government-set goals. It is a way of life and has been since electricity was first generated in Iceland. Striving for a better life, and isolated from the rest of the world, Icelanders developed and enhanced techniques and technologies to extract the energy they needed from the ground, first for district heating, then for electricity generation, and so laid the ground-work for what could become Iceland’s most valuable export; geothermal energy expertise.
Prior to WWII, Iceland was a developing country; it now has the third highest per capita income in the world according to the IMF World Economic Outlook 2007. Much of this development is attributed to the foreign currency savings from the minimization of imported fuels. The first district heating systems were developed in the first energy crisis post-WWI, and the energy crises of the 1970s pushed for further geothermal resource development and the generation of electricity from geothermal.
Rising oil costs do not affect energy prices in Iceland, which are unsubsidized and amongst the lowest in the world for electricity and district heating. Energy use per capita is high and emissions from electricity generation are the lowest in the world. Life expectancy is very high and, according to a recent U.N. survey, Icelandic people are the world’s happiest. What influence the use of geothermal has on that statistic will never be known, but we at Geysir are sure it plays an integral part.
Efficiency in use is an overreaching aim in Icelandic geothermal culture. The hottest portion of the resource is used to generate electricity after which the spent water is pumped into buildings for heating and hot water. There are several industrial direct users of geothermal heat which is also used for fish farming and agricultural applications. Iceland has over 130 open-air geothermally heated swimming pools that are very popular amongst Icelanders and visitors, bringing valuable health benefits.
Practice makes perfect and Icelanders have had plenty of time to hone their skills. Icelandic researchers and consultants are regarded as leading experts in assessing the energy-capacity potential of both high- and low-temperature geothermal fields, in exploration and drilling techniques, as well as in all other aspects of geothermal energy utilization. They come prepared; ready, willing and able to contribute to the world’s climate solution.
