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| Science & Technology |
| Iceland Uses Volcanos to Generate Pretty-Clean Electricity |
| 2017-05-08 |
| [ArabNews] It is named after a mythological figure and drills deep into the heart of a volcano: "Thor" is a rig that symbolizes Iceland’s leading-edge efforts to produce powerful clean energy. If successful, the experimental project could produce up to 10 times more energy than an existing conventional gas or oil well, by generating electricity from the heat stored inside the earth: In this case, volcanic areas. Launched in August last year, the drilling was completed on Jan. 25, reaching a record-breaking depth of 4,659 meters (nearly 3 miles). At this depth, engineers hope to access hot liquids under extreme pressure and at temperatures of 427 degrees C (800 F), creating steam that turns a turbine to generate clean electricity. Iceland’s decision to harness geothermal energy dates back to the 1970s and the oil crisis. But the new geothermal well is expected to generate far more energy, as the extreme heat and pressure at that depth make the water take the form of a "supercritical" fluid, which is neither gas nor liquid. A Nordic island nation, rich in geysers with fountain-like jets of water and steam, hot springs and breathtaking volcanoes, Iceland is currently the only country in the world with 100 percent renewable electricity. Geothermal accounts for 25 percent, while the rest comes from hydroelectric dams. But is Iceland a model for clean energy? The answer is complex, according to Martin Norman, a Norwegian sustainable finance specialist at Greenpeace. Although geothermal energy is still preferable to gas, coal and oil, it is not "completely renewable and without problems," he said. "As soon as you start drilling you have issues to it, such as sulfur pollution and CO2 emission and they need to find solutions to deal with it," he added. Not perfect; not good enough for Greenpeace! Albertsson agreed but said geothermal emissions were only "a fraction" compared to those produced by oil and natural gas. He added that recycling methods are progressing rapidly. Iceland prides itself on being at the forefront of renewable energy, yet "it is far from meeting the international objectives in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions," Norman said. The Institute of Economic Studies (IES) at the University of Iceland said in a February report that the country will not be able to abide by the COP21 climate change agreement signed in Paris in 2015. All green, but not green enough? That's not good news! Greenhouse gas emissions are rising in all sectors of the economy, except in fisheries and agriculture, it said. And they are predicted to rise by between 53 and 99 percent by 2030 from 1999 levels, a far cry from the island nation’s COP21 summit pledge to slash carbon pollution by 40 percent compared to the same benchmark. Iceland’s heavy and energy-intensive - aluminum, silicon -- industries and booming tourism are some of the causes. The land of ice and fire, with a population of 338,000, expects to welcome more than 2 million foreign visitors this year. With the frequent landing of charter planes, coaches weaving through the interior of the country, quads and powerful 4x4 driving over the black lava landscape and hotels sprouting up in the capital, the growing volume of holidaymakers is taking a toll on Iceland’s environment. Norman, of Greenpeace, fears the capital will turn into "a Costa del Reykjavik" due to the lure of the profits to be made and result in Icelanders giving up the country’s unique nature. In an interview with AFP, Iceland’s Environment Minister Bjort Olafsdottir said she hopes her nation will find the political will to reach its COP21 goals. "If we do nothing, if we do not take strong actions, we will not reach the Paris agreement goals. But that is not the plan," she said. The current government has doubled taxes on CO2 emissions and financial incentives for polluting industries have been removed, she argued. "It is the first step, probably it is not enough. We have to do it with the help of the industry," she said. Iceland’s long-term goal is to reduce the country’s dependence on hydrocarbons by having all cars run on electric power. |
| Posted by:Bobby |
| #10 Aye, but there are pretty girls. Went through the geothermal steam plant about 45km SE of Reykjavik about 5 years ago. What a plant! They had high pressure turbines, then they took the exhaust from that and fed a group of low pressure turbines. The place was alive when you went to the well field. It is impressive, and then a 1 meter diameter insulated pipe with hot water flowed to Reykjavic city for district heating. Wotta place! |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2017-05-08 21:01 |
| #9 Ah! Iceland! With a pretty girl behind every tree! Woooooohooooo!!! Wait... Iceland doesn't have trees... |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2017-05-08 20:45 |
| #8 Works great until some twerp throws your ring into the volcano and then it's all over... |
| Posted by: Sauron 2017-05-08 18:27 |
| #7 Actually we could run all of North America from the heat of the lava pool under Yellowstone. Of course it would be a major change of course for the Interior Dept, the National Park Service and all the eco-groups. I don't see it happening even at Armageddon. Too many closed minds! |
| Posted by: 3dc 2017-05-08 18:00 |
| #6 Ah! Iceland! With a pretty girl behind every tree! |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2017-05-08 17:43 |
| #5 Iceland, a fairly big and cold country has the highest per capita energy consumption in the world. Wealthy people don't like to be cold. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2017-05-08 16:06 |
| #4 Since we should all do anything that will reduce CO2 (except nuclear power, of course), we should immediately implement this all over the world. Of course, if we don't happen to have active volcanoes handy, we can just drill into the earth until we reach magma. /sarcasm |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2017-05-08 15:49 |
| #3 GREAT! Soon we will have a crisis of Global Cooling since the radiators won't be giving off enough heat. Who will hear you banging on the pipes???? |
| Posted by: USN, Ret. 2017-05-08 15:25 |
| #2 It's all fun and games until your power supply erupts. |
| Posted by: DarthVader 2017-05-08 14:46 |
| #1 Not perfect; not good enough for Greenpeace! Greenpeace is not for clean energy - they're against cheap energy. |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2017-05-08 14:12 |