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May 27

Electricity statistics update 2013

The Icelandic National Energy Authority (NEA) has published statistics regarding the electricity industry in 2013. The publication is in Icelandic only (link to the pdf-file). Here are some of the key numbers:

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TOTAL ELECTRICITY GENERATION:          18,116 GWh (2013)

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ELECTRICITY GENERATION SHARE BY SOURCE:

Hydro Power 71%
Geothermal Power     29%
Other     0%
Total 100%

NB: Electricity generated by wind power and fossil fuels was to small amount to be measured on the scale of this table. This is the first year the NEA publishes data for generated wind power in Iceland (it was 5 GWh which is less than 0.001% of all electricity in Iceland in 2013).

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ELECTRICITY POWER CAPACITY:

 

Hydro Power  1,986 MW
Geothermal Power     665 MW
Wind Power         2 MW
Fossil Fuels     114 MW
Total Power Capacity 2,767 MW

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ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION SHARE:

Energy Intensive Industries 80%
General Consumption     18%
Other     2%
Total 100.00%

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You will find more Icelandic energy data in our special data-section.

May 16

Icelandic researchers transforming the geothermal industry?

“The worldwide market is moving towards double-digit growth,” said Karl Gawell, executive director of the Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) during the organization’s recent International Geothermal Showcase in Washington, DC. “There’s lots of exciting things going on. Several years ago there were projects in 24 countries, this year almost 700 projects are under development in 76 countries across the globe.”

Iceland_Geothermal_Deep_Drilling_ExplainedWhat is especially interesting in this context, is how researchers in Iceland have found a new way to transform the heat generated by volcanic magma into electricity. The advancement could be especially valuable in Iceland, that has capitalized to derive a quarter of its electricity production and around 90 per cent of household heating from geothermal energy.

The Icelandic know-how may be creating interesting possibilities for high-growth in utilization of geothermal resources worldwide. Currently, the main interest seems to be from the United States (USA). In the western USA, geothermal prospects are on the rise, especially in Nevada and California. California already has the largest geothermal field in the world, the Geysers, which contains 22 geothermal power plants amid 45-square miles in the Mayacamas Mountains north of San Francisco.

With greenhouse gases rising just as sharply as energy production, climate change is creating a similar global push for a paradigm shift to clean, sustainable sources in the electricity sector. In all this, geothermal has a powerful role to play. Unlike intermittent renewable power sources, such as wind and solar, geothermal can provide consistent energy 24-hours a day, making it an appealing baseload replacement for coal and nuclear power that are responsible for keeping the power supply stable and reliable.

Krafla-geothemal-power-stationWhile electricity-generating geothermal technology is advancing, the bulk of the time and cost expended goes to exploration and drilling for the resource. Recent advances in oil and gas drilling, which can translate over to geothermal sensing, exploration and drilling techniques, are helping to facilitate innovation in the area. And because geothermal energy is not intermittent like wind or solar power, which generate when the wind blows or sun shines, it can fill the role that has long been played by fossil fuels and serve as a baseload power source. That not only helps to lower emissions but provides needed stability to the electric grid.

Internationally, the geothermal industry is growing fast. The new GEA report (pdf) released at the recent GEA showcase found that there were almost 700 projects under development in dozens of countries across the globe. With the international power market booming, geothermal showed a sustained growth rate of around five per cent. And the best thing about this expansion of geothermal energy, is that it competes with other energy sources on a pure cost basis.

May 6

The importance of diversifying Europe’s energy sources

Economist-Euorope-Energy-Security-april-2014-3The Economist recently wrote about how Europe is highly vulnerable to Russian control over gas supplies – and how Europe can reduce its reliance on Russia by changing generating technology. In the article, it states that “better electricity interconnectors could reduce that need for gas by making it easier to export electricity from renewables-rich markets like Germany on sunny or windy days and to import it on dark or still ones.“ This brings attention to the great importance of strengthening the electric grid in Europe and construct new electric cables, such as to Norway and to Iceland.

The Economist correctly points out that interconnectors can help substitute one type of renewable energy for another. Hydropower (like gas-fired power stations) can easily be turned on – when the wind in Germany or United Kingdom  falters. But hydropower is not evenly spread. As stated in the article, “Sweden and, particularly, Norway have a lot of it, Germany and Benelux not so much.” Iceland is a country with abundant hydropower, that by far exceeds the country’s own electricity needs. In addition, Iceland also has extensive geothermal resources, that offer stable electricity generation for domestic use and for exports via submarine electric cable(s). Thus, Icelandic energy can be an excellent option for diversifying Europe’s energy sources.

Icelink-Bloomberg-HVDC-2“Forging such links requires a pan-European push”, the Economist-article continues. To make it work on a large scale will require new pricing strategies to recompense the owners of fossil-fuel plants pushed off the grid when renewable energy from other countries flows in. According to the Economist, Norway could generate much more hydropower, given a market. The Economist states that there are currently plans for up to five new interconnectors from Norway to the EU to be built by 2020, with a capacity of up to 5GW. An inteconnector to Iceland would easily offer 1 GW more.

In last March (2014) the EU’s Heads of Government told the EU Commission to produce a plan for reducing energy dependence. The plan is to be finalized by June, and some of the key elements of the strategy are to include an in-depth study of EU energy security and plan for the diversification of supply. That is likely to give a push to storage capacity and both more and larger interconnectors. Iceland is the world’s number one electricity generator per capita and still has substantial unharnessed hydro- and geothermal resources. Thus, the development and implementation of such an action plan may offer very interesting possibilities for the Icelandic energy sector.