San Francisco Chronicle: Icelandic geothermal experience for the U.S.

Alexander Richter 1 Sep 2009

A recent article in the San Francisco Chronicle looks at the Icelandic geothermal know how and how it could be used by others, e.g. in the U.S.

“In between, at the foot of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge – the longest mountain range in the world that rises from a tectonic boundary on the Atlantic seafloor – stands Iceland’s newest geothermal power station. It’s a chic edifice of glass and steel that attracts tens of thousands of visitors a year who come to see how Icelanders heat and power their nation largely without the use of fossil fuels.

“Most of the interest in geothermal has been sparked not by environmental considerations, but by oil prices,” said Eirikur Hjalmarsson of Reykjavik Energy, the public utility that owns the plant. “We went from 95 percent of our energy coming from fossil fuels in the middle of the last century to about 20 percent today.”

Fifty mile-deep wells or boreholes have been drilled into these ancient lava fields east of the capital, Reykjavik, tapping enormous quantities of steam that are piped into the plant and forced through turbines to generate 213 megawatts of power, enough to power 175,000 typical U.S. homes. After passing through turbines, the steam is harnessed to provide heat to Reykjavik’s homes and businesses, fill its steam baths and heat its swimming pools, and even keep streets and sidewalks warm and ice-free through the sub-Arctic winter.”

For the full article see link below.

Source: SFGate of the San Francisco Chronicle