THE RESOURCE
Iceland is not the only place on Earth with abundant
geothermal activity. Geothermal activity can occur at
any plate boundary or where magma is close to the
Earth’s surface. Potential geothermal areas are
distributed globally, however, not all of these areas are
ideal sites for energy extraction & not all ideal places
are being used as extraction locations2.
Geothermal
Energy in
Iceland
Tara Allen, Natural Resources Winter 2013
ABOUT ICELAND
Iceland, a small nation located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It
has an area of 103,001 km2 & a population of 313,183.
Iceland formed about 25 million years ago & because Iceland
is located on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, magma is close to the
Earth's surface which creates geothermal activity that can be
harnessed as a form of renewable energy1.
Figure 2: A map of Iceland, the Iceland Plume, and the MidAtlantic Ridge including the Reykjanes and Kolbeinsey
Ridges. Image from academic.emporia.edu
The Iceland plume is the primary source of geothermal
activity on the island & it has created volcanoes,
geothermal hot springs both deep and shallow, geysers,
and mud pots throughout the island1.
Figure 4: The distribution of volcanoes and plate tectonics
worldwide indicating potential geothermal areas. Image from
USGS
Figure 3: This image shows the distribution of low and high
temperature fields throughout Iceland. Image from nea.is
Figure 1: The divergent plate boundary that separates the
North American Plate from the Eurasian Plate at Iceland's
Þingvellir National Park.
Geothermal water from hot springs & steam are what are
harnessed to produce energy. A hot spring is defined as
an area where heated water vents to the surface from
fractured rocks. Geothermal areas are classified as either
low-temperature areas where the water is below boiling
point or high-temperature areas where water is above
boiling1.
Figure 5: The breakdown of worldwide production of
geothermal energy for electricity. Iceland produces 2.26% of
the worlds total. Image from seekingalpha.com
DEVELOPMENT OF POWER
The medieval Icelandic sagas claim that Snorri
Sturluson, the famous Icelandic poet, historian, &
politician, was the first to harness geothermal energy by
creating a heated pool in his backyard over a thousand
years ago3.
In the early 20th century geothermal steam began to be
used more widely on farms for heating & hot water was
used for cooking, bathing, & laundry4.
Because of the global oil crisis in the 1970s, the
Icelandic government began to explore possible
geothermal source areas to promote the use of
geothermal energy on a nationwide scale5.
The tourism industry has also benefited from geothermal
energy. Many people come to the island to take advantage
of the hot springs as a source of rejuvenation and good
health, and many are drawn to the island by its geologic
wonders5.
EXTRACTION METHODS
To harness geothermal energy, wells are drilled into
underground reservoirs that tap into steam and hot water.
One of two things happens next, either the water is pumped
up to the surface & cooled before pumped straight into
nearby home taps, or the steam is harnessed to drive
turbines and create electricity5.
FUTURE FRAMEWORK
The Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) is currently
experimenting with deeper wells that would be about 5
km deep as opposed to the conventional holes that are
between 2 & 3 km deep5.
There has recently been a lot of question about how to
export the resource & to make it more accessible for
other countries. Until this happens, Iceland has fully
welcomed outside companies to build industries on its
shores, taking advantage of the cheap energy resources
while also adding to Iceland’s economy5.
There are three main types of geothermal power plants:
1. Dry steam which take steam directly from surface
fractures to generate electricity.
2. Binary which send geothermal water through a
secondary fluid with a lower boiling point, causing the
secondary fluid to vaporize, creating steam.
3. Flash which mixing high pressure hot water with low
pressure cold water to creating steam4.
Figure 8: The Blue Lagoon geothermal spa, one of
Icelands biggest tourist attraction, formed from the
wastewater from the Svartsengi geothermal power
plant. Image from scientificamerican.com
Figure 6: This graph shows the location and the change in
electricity generation for seven main geothermal power plants in
Iceland from the 1970s until 2009. Image from nea.is
REFERENCES
Today, roughly 80% of Iceland’s electricity comes from
hydropower & the other 20% comes from geothermal
power. Within geothermal use, 90% of Icelanders are
following Sturluson's lead in using the energy to heat
their homes, generate electricity, & heat swimming
pools5.
Geothermal energy is used in aluminium manufacturing;
for recreation such as heating swimming pools; in fish
farming to heat fresh water; in heating greenhouses that
grow the nations vegetables, flowers, and forest plants in;
to produce liquid carbon dioxide from geothermal fluids;
& to melt snow4
Figure 7: A diagram of the flash steam geothermal process that
many Icelandic geothermal plants use. Image from nea.is.
1. Thordarson, Thor. (2012). Outline of Geology of Iceland. American
Geophysical Union. Retrieved Feb. 16th, 2013. From
http://www.agu.
org/meetings/chapman/2012/bcall/pdf/Chapman_Outline_of_Geology_of_Icelan
d.pdf.
2. Katusa, Martin. (2009). Is Geothermal the Next Hot Energy Source? Seeking
Alpha. Retrieved on March 2nd, 2013. From http://seekingalpha.
com/article/123371-is-geothermal-the-next-hot-energy-source.
3. Mims, Christopher. (2008). One Hot Island: Iceland’s Renewable Geothermal
Power. Scientific American. Retrieved Feb. 3rd, 2013. From http://www.
scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=iceland-geothermal-power.
4. National Energy Authority. (n.d.). Geothermal. Orkustofnun. Retrieved Feb.
8th, 2013. From http://www.nea.is/geothermal.
5. Aldred, Jessica. (2008). Iceland’s energy answer comes naturally. The
Guardian. Retrieved February 8th, 2013. From http://www.guardian.co.
uk/environment/2008/apr/22/renewableenergy.alternativeenergy.