Geothermal power in Iceland - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Due to the special geological location of Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

, the high concentration of volcano

Volcano

2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...

es in the area is often an advantage in the generation of geothermal energy, the heating and production of electricity

Electricity

Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...

. During winter

Winter

Winter is the coldest season of the year in temperate climates, between autumn and spring. At the winter solstice, the days are shortest and the nights are longest, with days lengthening as the season progresses after the solstice.-Meteorology:...

, pavements near these areas (such as Reykjavík

Reykjavík

Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...

and Akureyri

Akureyri

Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality ....

) are heated up.

Five major geothermal

Geothermal power

Geothermal energy is thermal energy generated and stored in the Earth. Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter. Earth's geothermal energy originates from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of minerals...

power plants exist in Iceland, which produce approximately 26.2% (2010) of the nation's energy. In addition, geothermal heating

Geothermal heating

Geothermal heating is the direct use of geothermal energy for heating applications. Humans have taken advantage of geothermal heat this way since the Paleolithic era. Approximately seventy countries made direct use of a total of 270 PJ of geothermal heating in 2004...

meets the heating and hot water requirements of approximately 87% of all buildings in Iceland. Apart from geothermal energy, 75.4% of the nation’s electricity was generated by hydro power

Hydroelectricity

Hydroelectricity is the term referring to electricity generated by hydropower; the production of electrical power through the use of the gravitational force of falling or flowing water. It is the most widely used form of renewable energy...

, and 0.1% from fossil fuel

Fossil fuel

Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms. The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years, and sometimes exceeds 650 million years...

s.

Consumption of primary geothermal energy in 2004 was 79.7 petajoules (PJ), approximately 53.4% of the total national consumption of primary energy

Primary energy

Primary energy is an energy form found in nature that has not been subjected to any conversion or transformation process. It is energy contained in raw fuels, and other forms of energy received as input to a system...

, 149.1 PJ. The corresponding share for hydro power

Hydroelectricity

was 17.2%, petroleum

Petroleum

Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...

was 26.3%, and coal was 3%. Plans are underway to turn Iceland into a 100% fossil-fuel-free nation in the near future. The following are the five largest power stations in Iceland.

Svartsengi Power Station
Svartsengi Power Station
The Svartsengi Power Station is a geothermal power station located in Keflavik, Iceland, near the Keflavík International Airport at the Reykjanes Peninsula. As of December 2007, it produces 76.5 MW of energy, and about 475 litres/second of hot water...
Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station
Krafla Power Station
Krafla Power Station
The Krafla Power Station is a geothermal power station located near the Krafla Volcano inIceland. Since 1999, it produces 60 MW of energy.-History:The following list shows the development timeline of the power station since 1974:...
Hellisheiði Power Station
Hellisheiði Power Station
The Hellisheiði Power Station is the second largest geothermal power station in the world, and the largest in Iceland. The facility is located in Hengill, southwest Iceland, from the Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station. As of October 2011, the plant produces of electricity and 133 MW of hot...
Reykjanes Power Station
Reykjanes Power Station
The Reykjanes Power Station is a geothermal power station located in Reykjanes at the southwestern tip of Iceland. As of 2009, the plant produces 100 MW of electricity, with an expansion plan to increase this by an additional 50 MWe by the end of 2010.- See also :* Geothermal power in...

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