Once upon a time in a far away land of ice and snow, the descendants of the mighty Vikings roared with laughter as they harnessed the mighty volcanoes arising from the very center of the earth to provide abundant energy for all.
It is mythology like most Norse legends.
Valhalla doesn't exist. Odin is a big fat fraud like the one Al Franken wrote about.
Over 70% of Iceland’s electricity is generated from hydro and geothermal power
Hydropower? 70% hydro and geothermal? What in valhalla are they talking about? A country that depends on fishing for much of its income depends on dams for the majority of its power? And what about that 30%? And, hey, how do they fuel their automobiles?
The answer to the last first is petroleum. In a decade or so, Iceland has gone from one hydrogen-powered vehicle to 5 or 6 or something last I looked. There is grand talk about not only having all vehicles but the entire fishing fleet hydrogen-powered. It is a dream for now like much of the dreamy stuff many environmentalists here prefer to reality.
Vikings seeking refuge from the rule of Harold I of Norway colonized Iceland in the mid-9th century and have survived and thrived on their island of fire and ice despite its fragile environment and stormy seas. When they arrived, one-quarter of the island was forested, but within fifty years 80 percent of its trees had been cleared for pastures and fields.
Today, only 4 percent of the original forests remain.
How nice.
They killed the trees, destroyed the soil, dammed off the fish and - well it's a good thing the ocean has lots of fish. At least the ocean has had lots of fish.
That missing 30% of electric power from other sources seems to be a Norse legend that comes from the biggest liars on earth - statisticians. Still the innovative and much-heralded "geothermal" power plant in the remote village of Husavik might be a clue to other sources. About half the power of the 2MW plant comes from a garbage-burning facility that adds heat to the low-temperature geothermal waters.
The banking meltdown in Iceland led to a financial freeze of epic proportions. (Financial people are kinda confused about physics.)
I like this:
"Banker" Björk Aims to Thaw Iceland Financial Freeze
She might be best known for her freaky-fun swan dress at the 2001 Oscars, but Icelandic diva Björk is now pushing the envelope in a whole new way—venturing into the world of venture capital.
Forbes reports that the singer has teamed up with Reykjavik-based Audur Capital to raise money to invest in sustainable businesses in Iceland, most notably green energy.
You would never catch Paris Hilton or Britney Spears pulling that kind of caper but remember this is Iceland.
Ms. Bjork (what a lovely name) is into green energy mainly. More power to her.
Ms. Bjork might be a bit dangerous but the geothermal power she is investing in can be dangerous too:
harnessing this power, by drilling deep holes into volcanoes, turns out to be dangerous business. Krafla's construction in the 1970s was interrupted by dramatic eruptions at a nearby volcano.
And even when that eruption subsided, there were other troubles.
Engineer Bjarni Palsson from the national power company takes us through the rain to the edge of a large crater in the hills above the Krafla power plant.
"Well No. 4 in this area was being drilled at this site here when suddenly an underground steam explosion managed to get its way to the surface," he explains.
People drilling the hole with a giant rig were just able to pull it out of the way and get to safety when the steam exploded and dug a crater that's more than 100 feet deep and about as wide. Palsson peers down into it and shakes his head.
"This is a very good lesson," he says. "Before we start any project or especially if we have new people here, we take them here and tell [them] this is what can happen if you make the slightest mistake."
They named the crater "manmade hell" and moved on. Another well had to be abandoned when the drillers hit red-hot molten rock. It shot up through the hole and onto the surface, obviously ruining the hole, but at least not claiming any lives.
So, success in this business means you need to know how to read the geology deep underground in order to tame the power of volcanoes.
The somewhat more timid souls in Vermont considering geothermal power from a magic pond decided the gamble wasn't worth a few bucks as long as there was coal to be burned.
Meddie Perry, a senior hydrogeologist with VHB-Pioneer, has been working with the village of Bellows Falls since this summer to explore the potential of tapping into what he says is a source of geothermal energy that is beneath the bedrock of the village.
Perry's firm was paid $5,000 to find the best spots for potential wells and determine whether it makes sense to invest more money in the plan.
Perry told the trustees Tuesday that while he could not guarantee that there is enough geothermal power to run a municipal utility, he said he was certain that there was enough there to heat and cool individual buildings.
"There is an awful lot of heat energy," Perry said. "I am confident a heat source is there."
Figures but why take a chance when there is coal to be burned. More efficient to heat up the whole gawddam planet I suppose.
Vikings didn't do well when they invaded North America earlier either.
Iceland doesn't get most of its power from geothermal, like the Norse legends say, but rather from nasty hydropower. Still geothermal has provided the extra kick to make Iceland 100% green in generating electricity. Perhaps some day all transportation will be green thanks to geothermal. Iceland draws energy-intensive industries seeking cheap energy and is discussing exporting power by undersea cable.
America is thinking on it while babbling nonsensically about clean coal, safe nuclear power plants and clean natural gas.
Best, Terry