Iceland, geothermal power

Geothermal power plant located in a lava field in Blue Lagoon, Iceland. (Corbis-Bettmann)... 

Iceland, an island nation with abundant hydroelectric and geothermal power sources close to where people live, is using natural power sources to convert water into hydrogen and oxygen. In April 2003, Iceland opened its first hydrogen filling station for fuel-cell vehicles. If this initiative proves successful, perhaps the rest of the industrialized world will eventually convert to a hydrogen-fueled economy. 

Figure 17.1. Elements of a hydrogen corridor between Iceland and the EU, based on hydro- or geothermal power.

Hydrogen from hydro or geothermal power from Iceland offers the lowest barriers with respect to competing utilisation possibilities electricity export via electricity grid is less attractive, owing to Iceland s isolated position. 

Figure 12 shows the quantity of CO2 emitted into the atmosphere from two geothermal power plants in Iceland and how it compares with CO2 emission from fossil fuel plants. At Krafla, the quantity of C02 emitted per MW-year (MWy) is 8401, which is only about 10% of that from a typical coal-fired power plant (8760 t/MWy, Armannsson Kristmannsdottir 1992). The... 

Arnorsson, S., Eli asson, J. Gudmundsson, B. Th. 1999. 40 MW Geothermal Power Plant in Bjamar-flag Evaluation of the Impact on Ground Water and Natural Geothermal Manifestations. Science Institute Report RH-26-99, 36 pp. (In Icelandic.)... 

An interesting use of carbon dioxide is its conversion to methane or synthetic petroleum fuel. For such a system to work, it is necessary to have an abundant and inexpensive source of elemental hydrogen, Hj, made by the electrolysis of water using renewable wind power or (especially in Iceland) geothermal energy. The key chemical reaction is a reverse water gas shift reaction... 

In some European cities, waste heat from fossil fuel electric power plants is used for district heating with an overall energy efficiency of 85%. These plants were not originally constructed as cogenerating units. Waste heat from industrial process plants can also be used. Geothermal sources are used to provide heat for district heating systems in Iceland and Boise, Idaho. 

About 50 percent of the electricity generated in Iceland is from geothermal sources. This is the Blue Lagoon, a warm pool created from the effluent of the hydrothermal power plant visible in the background. 

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