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Iceland signs geothermal cooperation agreement with China

Iceland signs geothermal cooperation agreement with China Yangbajing geothermal power plant (Source: Panoramio)
Alexander Richter 14 Jul 2010

Iceland signes cooperation agreement with China on a collaboration for geothermal development in developing countries, especially in Eastern Africa.

Reported from Iceland, Minister for Foreign Affairs Össur Skarphedinsson, signed a formal agreement with China “for the two countries to collaborate on harnessing geothermal energy in developing countries, especially in Eastern Africa, which is rich in geothermal energy.”

“According to Skarphédinsson’s proposal, China will provide the funding while Iceland will provide specialized knowledge, a press release from the Icelandic Foreign Ministry states.

The project would be Iceland’s contribution to the shift to renewable energy sources in compliance with the Copenhagen Treaty of December 2009.

Xi found the idea a good way to strengthen the cooperation between Iceland and China and at the same time work against climate change.

The countries’ cooperation in the field of geothermal energy was also brought up, and Yang said the Chinese government is interested in taking further advantage of Icelandic knowledge in that field to construct more heating facilities in China.

One heating facility, which Icelandic and Chinese parties constructed together, now supplies more than 1,000 Chinese citizens with hot water. Yang is also keen on Iceland and China cooperating on harnessing geothermal energy in developing countries, where the lack of energy prevents economic growth.

Skarphédinsson and Martonyi discussed the process of Iceland’s forthcoming negotiations with the EU where Hungary will hold the presidency of the EU Council in the first half of 2011, plus bilateral relations between the countries, economic issues and cooperation on the harnessing of geothermal energy.”

Source: Iceland Review