1. Geothermal projects in Iceland
Ólafur G. Flóvenz
General director of ISOR
Presentation at “Geothermal Energy - Benefits and Potential”
an event in Brussels on February 1st 2008 during
European Union Sustainable Energy Week
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

2. The internal heat of the Earth
> 5000 °C
> 3000 °C
> 1000 °C
~ 30 °C/km
The heat comes from from decay of radioactive material.
0.1% of the energy that is stored in Earth’s crust could satisfy the world energy consumption for years.
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

3. World Energy Assessment 2000
UPPKAST
Worldwide technical potential of renewable energy sources (EJ per year)
Hydro-
power
Biomass
Solar
energy
Wind
energy
Geothermal
energy
World Energy Assessment 2000 3

4. The heat stored in the Earth´s crust
The geothermal energy resource is huge
but we have technical problems to harness it.
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

5. Renewable energy – Electricity 2005
Production TWh %
Hydro
2837
89.0
Biomass
183
5.7
Wind
106
3.3
Geothermal 57
1.8
Solar 5
0.2
Tidal
<2
<0.1
Source: WEC 2007 Survey of Energy Resources, World Energy Council  2007 (

6. Key question
How can we extract and utilize the geothermal heat for sustainable energy production with low environmental impact?
ICELAND GEOSURVEY
Photo: Anette K. Mortensen

7. Some concepts of geothermal energy
Three main types of geothermal fields for electricity production:
High temperature fields
Medium temperature fields
Low temperature fields
We distinguish between:
Conventional geothermal systems
Unconventional geothermal systems
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

8. High temperature fields
200 – 350°C
Depth: 1 – 3 km
Related to volcanism and plate boundaries
Suitible for electricity production with conventional turbines
Nesjavellir, Iceland. 300°C fluid used to produce electricity
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

9. Medium temperature fields°C
1 – 5 km
Mostly found in deep sedimentary basins around the world as well as in volcanic areas
High flowrates necessary for electricity
Binary systems needed for electricity production
Húsavík, Iceland. 124°C water used to produce electricity
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

10. Low temperature fields
Below 100 °C
At 1 – 3 km depth
Mostly found in sedimentary basins and fracture zones around the world
Suitible for space heating, balneology, fish farming etc.
Photo: Sigurdur Sveinn Jónsson

11. Conventional geothermal system
Market
Power Plant
Borhole
COLD ROCK
Permeable fractures
HOT ROCK
Fluid recharge

12. Almost all geothermal power plants in the world today are conventional
Olkaria, Kenya
Photo: Ingavar Birgir Friðleifsson

13. Unconventional geothermal fields are of two main types:
Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS)
Supercritical Geothermal Systems (SGS)
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

14. Enhanced geothermal system (EGS)
Market
Power Plant
Injection well
Production well
COLD ROCK
Artificially enhanced permeability
HOT ROCK

15. Primary energy consumption in Iceland 1940-2006
ICELAND GEOSURVEY
Source: Orkustofnun

16. Energy sources used for space heating 1970-2005
ICELAND GEOSURVEY
Source: Orkustofnun

17. Cost of house heating in the Nordic countries
Iceland
Finland
Norway
Sweden
Denmark
Source: Samorka, Iceland

18. From fossil fuel to geothermal: The environmental benefit
Before geothermal space heating: Reykjavik in 1933 covered with smoke from coal heatings,
With geothermal space heating: Reykjavik in 2008, almost same view but without visible air pollution
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

19. Geothermal fields and installed power in geothermal plants
UPPKAST
Geothermal fields and installed power in geothermal plants
120 MW
76 MW
60 MW
3 MW
2 MW
+ 400 MW 2015
+ 200 MW before 2015 ?
+ 400 MW before 2015
100 MW
120 MW
High temp. Fields are all in the active volcanic zones
Geothermal Power plants in operation
2 new ones in this year Reykjanes and Hellisheiði both in vicinity of the municipal area - new aluminium plants
ICELAND GEOSURVEY 19

20. The magic Icelandic progress
Favourable, but not unique geological conditions.
High public acceptance.
Political willingness:
Good regulatory and legal framework.
Strong initial governmental support for research, capacity building and risk sharing funds.
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

21. Favourable geological conditions
Intersection of a hot spot and a oceanic Ridge.
Repeated magmatic intrusions keeps the crust warm.
Seismic activity opens pathways for fluid to extract the heat.
Hot spot
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

22. The geothermal potential in Iceland
The generating capacity from known high temperatrue fields is of the order of 25 TWh/y assuming heat extraction to 3 km depth.
In addition there are 1,50x1021 J stored energy above 200°C between 3 and 5 km in the volcanic zone in extensional environment. Converting only 1% of this energy to electricity could yield additional 40 TWh/y for 100 years.
To-day the generating capacity in Iceland is 480MWe. The total potential is unknown, but might be as a high as 8000 MWe , depending on the technical progress in the near future.
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

23. Public acceptance: The Blue Lagoon
Photo:GOF-9. March 2001, 11:35:48
Public acceptance: The Blue Lagoon

24. Volcanism and earthquakes are important natural resources!
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

25. Are the mid-oceanic ridges the future energy resource?
About 600 km of the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge are in Icelandic waters.
Very high temperatures at shallow depths below the ocean bottom.
Could we develop methods to produce MW of electricity from oceanic ridges in the future?
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

26. The Icelandic geothermal experience shows that
Geothermal energy can be produced in a sustainable and feasible way with low environmental impact.
Photo: Emil Thor
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

27. To increase the world wide share of geothermal electricity production we need:
Strong support for research, especially for unconventional geothermal resources.
Support action to implement geothermal plants in the developing countries.
Education and dissemination of geothermal know-how.
Favourable legal and regulatory framework.
ICELAND GEOSURVEY

28. Thank you for your attention
ICELAND GEOSURVEY
Photo: Gudmundur Steingrímsson