Global: The Future of Island Power Could be Geothermal

Geothermal mega-drills and floating reactors: the future of island power (World Economic Forum)

Montserrat Drilling Site on the Flank of the Soufriere Volcano, Bastien Poux.

Islands are unusually difficult to electrify. This is because, on islands:

1. Land is scarce.
2. Fuel needs to be shipped in.
3. Isolation results in fragile electricity grids.

In the past, geothermal energy was an insignificant part of electricity generation. This is in part because its power density is too diffuse, about only 0.1 W/m2, and it is prohibitively expensive to harness diffuse energy sources. However, many islands are formed via volcanic and active tectonics, so they have exceptionally high grades of geothermal energy. Iceland is one of the most famous examples.

For these islands blessed with superior geothermal energy, their natural geological advantage, coupled with new drilling technologies to access hotter heat sources at deeper depths (see, for example, GA Drilling and AltaRock Energy), may be enough to introduce geothermal power generation as a major option in the future.

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