Anomalously high per capita electricity consumption in Iceland

1. Anomalously high per capita electricity consumption in Iceland  Gina Quan Physics H190 Spring 2012 03/21/12

2. Anomalously high per capita electricity consumption in Iceland  • Introduction to Iceland • History • Energy Produced • Geothermal • Hydroelectric • Other • Consumption • Future

3. What is Iceland?

4. What is Iceland? • Population: 320,000 • 60% reside in the capital city, Reykjavik • 100,000 sq km • High standard of living • Terrain • Tectonically active • Mid-Atlantic ridge • Volcanic activity • Glaciersand rivers

5. What is Iceland? • Isolated • Motivation to be self-sustaining • What’s in Iceland? • Geysers, Hot springs • Aurora Borealis • Bjork

6. Anomalously high per capita electricity consumption in Iceland  • Introduction to Iceland • History • Energy Produced • Geothermal • Hydroelectric • Other • Consumption • Future

7. History of Energy • Hydro dams in the early 20th c. • Government encouraged electric stoves • Geothermal space heating • Women used to bake “hot spring bread” (hverabrauth) • First used in homes- early 20thcentury swimming pools • Industry growth  growth in hydroelectric and geothermal power • 1970’s movement toward replacing oil

8. Anomalously high per capita electricity consumption in Iceland  • Introduction to Iceland • History • Energy Produced • Hydroelectric • Geothermal • Other • Consumption • Future

9. HydroElectriC Power • Accounts for 80% of electricity produced • Rivers, waterfalls  dams • Criticism for environmental consequences • Mostly near aluminum smelters (more on that later)

10. Anomalously high per capita electricity consumption in Iceland  • Introduction to Iceland • History • Energy Produced • Hydroelectric • Geothermal • Other • Consumption • Future

11. Geothermal power • ~25% of energy produced in Iceland • Heats 90% of homes in Iceland • How? • 1. Heat from Earth heats water under crust • 2. Iceland drills boreholes • 3. Hot water • 4. Profit!!!

12. Geothermal power • Blue Lagoon (Bláalónið) • One of Iceland’s most visited attractions • 6 million liters of water • Water from geothermal plant waste • Rich in sulphur, silica

13. Geothermal power • “Sustainable”- heat removed is small compared to total heat in Earth • Precipitation replenishes water • 5 major geothermal plants • 4 TWh/yr but could grow to up to 30 TWh/year

14. Anomalously high per capita electricity consumption in Iceland  • Introduction to Iceland • History • Energy Produced • Hydroelectric • Geothermal • Other • Consumption • Future

15. Other energy sources • Oil • Roughly 20% of energy consumption • Transportation, fishing • Coal • Shift toward renewable resources- 1960’s • Plans to be completely renewable by 2050

16. Anomalously high per capita electricity consumption in Iceland  • Introduction to Iceland • History • Energy Produced • Hydroelectric • Geothermal • Other • Consumption • Future

17. Consumption of Electricity • 100% of electricity renewable • Provides itself 70% of primary energy • More than any other country • Virtually all is consumed by residents • ~5.9 kW per person= 16.5 million MWh/year

18. Cost of Electricity in Iceland SO CHEAP

19. Why the high electricity consumption per capita?

20. Manufacturing • Aluminum smelters • Three plants • 1969- Rio Tinto Alcan (CN) • Intially, 33k metric tons/year • 1998- Century Aluminum Country (US) • 2008- Alcoa (US) • Built an entire hydroelectric plant • ~1000 tons of aluminum/day • Cause of 2008 crash? • Total- nearly 800k metric tons/year!

22. Manufacturing • Bauxite imported from US, Ireland and Australia "We are based in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. We are not connected to the mainland Europe grid," said Bjarni Mar Gylfason, chief economist for the Federation of Icelandic Industries. "So we export energy in the form of aluminum."

23. Total Icelandic Electricity Consumption

24. Manufacturing • Ferrosilicum plants • Industrial products- Roughly 55% of Iceland’s exports • Other exports • Fish • Plants consume 5x electricity of residents

25. Energy Consumption- All

26. Anomalously high per capita electricity consumption in Iceland  • Introduction to Iceland • History • Energy Produced • Hydroelectric • Geothermal • Other • Consumption • Future

27. To the Future • Economic recession  oil imports costly • Projects to develop renewable energy • Harvest methane in agriculture • Hydrogen fuel for cars and ships • Deep drilling  supercritical steam • + more!

28. To the Future • Current energy policy • Conserving natural areas • Reduce greenhouse gas emissions • Promote sustainable development • Diversify Economy • Increase forestation • Increase use of environmentally friendly vehicles

29. Conclusion • Iceland’s anomalously high electricity consumption per capita is due to large scale manufacturing • 80% of Iceland’s energy consumed is renewable • The majority of energy produced is geothermal and hydroelectric

30. Sources • Energy Development in Island Nations <http://www.edinenergy.org/iceland.html> • Energy Solutions In Iceland <http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/637> • Gjelsvik, et. al. Energy Demand in Iceland. Statistics Norway Research Department. May, 1995. • Ministry for the Environment in Iceland. Iceland’s Fifth National Communication on Climate Change. 2011. • Wikipedia.org

31. Thank yoU