Iceland:

Geothermal Keeps Iceland Warm (The Reykjavik Grapevine)

(Courtesy Veðurstofa Íslands)

Iceland is living up to its expectations with temperatures dropping significantly in the past few days, reaching -20°C (-4°F) in some places. This is when Icelanders rely on geothermal water to get by.

90% of the geothermal water utilized in Iceland is used for central heating and according to Reykjavík Energy, usage of hot water in the capital area alone went up to 15,800 tons per hour on Thursday afternoon.

That’s equivalent of the hourly water volume needed for the Kárahnjúkavirkjun and Búrfellsvirkjun power plants  combined, producing all in all 930 MWe, RÚV reports.

Last week, the hot water usage was around 10,000 tons per hour so the increase is 60% over a few days, due to the cold weather.

Read More......