Going Green; How Iceland’s Geothermal Surplus Could Shape the UK Energy Market (Iceland Magazine)
Thanks to a plethora of geothermal energy found beneath the island’s crust, the typical Icelandic power bill dwarfs that of its North American and European counterparts. In fact, Iceland produces about five times more energy domestically than this “Viking nation” actually needs. Therefore, due to the tremendous energy surplus geographically gifted to this Nordic country located in the North Atlantic, a massive project has been in the works to help Icelanders share this natural resource with the rest of the world. Exporting its surplus of “green energy” would help Iceland harvest a new form of internal income aside from the fishing and tourism industries that currently make up a majority of the country's domestic economy.
Plans have been put in place for a
£4.3bn Transatlantic Sea Cable that will allow Iceland to share its abundance of energy with the United Kingdom, a landmass plagued by expensive heating bills and growing energy shortages. It seems like the puzzle pieces fit perfectly as Iceland would be able to ship out its surplus of geothermal energy to the power-starved Brits, and the UK would welcome a cheaper alternative to their current energy situation. Additionally, this form of “green energy” will help the UK ease off of the "less desirable" forms of nuclear energy that it currently uses. If they don’t use it, they lose it. Thus, Iceland needs to make this “power play” happen to cash in on their geothermal revenue stream.
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