TOPIC 'Geothermal Energy' on Oct 21, 2008 (CEST)
Is It Possible? Iceland AND Geothermal Energy?
As strange as it may seem to some, Iceland, the land of ice, has been operating a geothermal power plant, an underground heat source, since 1976 in Svartsengi. The plant combined heat and power to produce 150 MW of heat and 76 MW of electricity. Heat from this plant serves the capital of Iceland, Reykjavik, and its peninsula. The discharge from the power plant is also famous for its Blue Lagoon Spa.
The Blue Lagoon was really an accident as discharge from the geothermal-generated power supply mixed with saline groundwater. This caused the calcification reaction of the porous ground beneath the lagoon area. The water in the lagoon averages 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) year round. New geothermal plants have actually gotten around creating similar lagoons by directing the discharge deeper below the surface of the earth instead of at ground level.
Iceland legend traces geothermal use back to a fellow, Snorri Sturlusson, who first found a way to utilize the heat underground to make a swimming pool in his backyard. Iceland is currently the leader on geothermal technology and provides its experience and expertise to the rest of the world. Iceland’s geologists, engineers, and financial advisors consult with Germany, the Philippines, and China on geothermal matters.
Iceland possesses two of the most important components for being an excellent candidate for geothermal energy use. The country has huge water reservoirs underground that are continually fed by an extremely high annual precipitation rate (up to 450 centimeters or 177 inches) and thin trails of magma that reach into the deepest recesses of the reservoirs to heat the water to temperatures greater than 400 degrees Celsius (750 degrees Fahrenheit).
Starting in the 1970s when the first oil shock was recognized as an increasing problem across the globe, Icelanders have been taking full advantage of the good fortune of their location. Through skill and effort, the country has completely eradicated its dependence on fossil fuels for electricity and heating.
Sherry Irvin
on behalf of the
BascoTec Internet Limited
Technologie Park 13
33100 Paderborn
Germany
