Geothermal Iceland, a society without waste

Over the past century Iceland has transitioned from being one of Europe’s poorest countries, dependent on peat and coal imports for its energy needs, to a nation with a high standard of living that meets all of its electrical needs from renewable sources.  Orkustofnun, Iceland’s National Energy Authority, invested in research and development following World War Two to reduce the nation’s dependence on peat and coal through the use of geothermal energy.

Thanks to its more than 600 hot springs and 200 volcanoes, Iceland has an abundance of geothermal sources and has made terrific use of this renewable source to heat the country’s homes and power its energy needs.  About 90% of houses in Iceland are heated with geothermal energy, and 30% of the country’s electrical needs are powered by geothermal sources (hydropower accounts for the other 70%).

In addition to heating and electricity, Icelanders use geothermal energy to heat their swimming pools, helping grow food in greenhouses, managing recycling efforts and producing a variety of products including for skincare. As the world witnesses Russia witholding its gas exports to punish other countries for their stances against the war on Ukraine, the prospect of Iceland eventually exporting geothermal energy to other European countries provides a glimmer of hope for a continent very reliant on gas and oil imports.

As the world witnesses Russia witholding its gas exports to punish other countries for their stances against the war on Ukraine, the prospect of Iceland eventually exporting geothermal energy to other European countries provides a glimmer of hope for a continent very reliant on gas and oil imports.

Developing geothermal energy has helped Iceland truly become a society without waste.

All photos in this article credited to Martin Zwick \ Reda&Co.  All images in this article and on the Kaleidoscope blog site are available for licensing.  Please contact UIG at info@universalimagesgroup.com

Sources:

Orkustofnun, Iceland’s National Energy Authority

https://nea.is/geothermal/#:~:text=Iceland%20is%20a%20pioneer%20in,the%20country’s%20total%20electricity%20production.

Arctic Adventures

https://adventures.is/information/geothermal-energy-iceland/

Power Mag (Birta Kristin Helgadottir is director of Green by Iceland, and Einar Tomasson is head of Energy and Green Solutions at Business Iceland).

https://www.powermag.com/iceland-offers-case-study-of-geothermals-powerful-potential/

This article continues a series of posts focused on UIG’s Mission 2022: Climate Change.  Help us build a comprehensive climate change collection by contributing content to UIG.  Contact us at info@universalimagesgroup.com

One thought on “Geothermal Iceland, a society without waste

Leave a Reply