Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Iceland:

Geothermal Energy in Iceland (Iceland Review)

Question: Does Iceland run 100 percent on geothermal energy? If not, are there any plans to convert the entire energy system of the island to 100 percent renewable energy with no emissions of poisonous substances? What does the population think about this? Alexander, Italy.

Answer: According to the report 2013 Energy Statistics in Iceland from the National Energy Authority, geothermal energy was used to produce 29 percent of Iceland’s electricity in 2013 compared to 71 percent by hydropower. Around 90 percent of space heating is produced by geothermal energy.

The SulFix sequestration project aims to develop a method to lower hydrogen sulfide (H2S) emissions from high temperature power plants that has lower operation costs and is more environmentally friendly than current H2S cleaning methods.

CarbFix, on the other hand, is among the projects being carried out to develop an industrial solution for mineral sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in basalt. The project consists of, among other methods, field injection of CO2 charged water at the HellisheiĆ°i power plant in Southwest Iceland.