Because of the special geological situation in Iceland with the high concentration of volcanoes, geothermal energy is very often used for heating and production of electricity. The energy comes rather cheap. So in the wintertime, some sidewalks in Reykjavík and Akureyri are heated and on the road between Reykjavík and the International Airport at Keflavík (40 km long), the lights on the lamp posts are on the whole night.

In Iceland, there are three major geothermal power plants which produce about 17% (2004) of the country's electricity. In addition, geothermal heating meets the heating and hot water requirements for around 87% of the nations' housing.

The first two of the following produce both electricity and hot-water for heating purposes, whereas the third only produces electricity.

1) The Svartsengi Power-Plant, situated in the south-west of the country, near the International Airport at Keflavík on the Reykjanes peninsula. It currently produces 39 MWe of electricity, and about 315 litres/second of almost boiling water (90 °C). The water is also used to heat up the lake of the nearby Bláa Lónið (Blue Lagoon).

Svartsengi Link: http://www.hs.is/default.asp?WPG=En_HSForsida&WPhsmainlinks=5

2) The Nesjavellir Power-Plant, situated in the south of the country, near the lake Þingvallavatn and Hengill volcano. It currently produces 90 MWe of electricity, and about 500 to 800 litres/second of heating water.

Nesjavellir Link: http://www.or.is/Forsida/ENGLISHVERSION/view.aspx?.

3) The Krafla Power-Plant, situated in the north-east corner of Iceland near lake Mývatn and the volcano Krafla - hence the name. It produces 60 MWe of electricity, with an expansion to 90 MWe on the drawing boards.

Krafla Link: http://www.lv.is/EN/category.asp?catID=277

See also

• Combined heat and power
• Distric heating
• Renewable energy

External links

• Iceland Energy Authority
• Photo Geothermal power station Svartsengi
• Geothermal power station at Krafla