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

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 10.000 years. ICELAND GEOSURVEY

World Energy Assessment 2000 UPPKAST 28-1-2008 Worldwide technical potential of renewable energy sources (EJ per year) Hydro- power Biomass Solar energy Wind energy Geothermal energy World Energy Assessment 2000 3

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

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, 427-437. World Energy Council  2007 (www.worldenergy.org)

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

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

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

Medium temperature fields 120-200°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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Geothermal fields and installed power in geothermal plants UPPKAST 28-1-2008 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

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

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

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

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

Volcanism and earthquakes are important natural resources! ICELAND GEOSURVEY

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 30.000 MW of electricity from oceanic ridges in the future? ICELAND GEOSURVEY

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

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

Thank you for your attention www.isor.is ICELAND GEOSURVEY Photo: Gudmundur Steingrímsson