REYKJAVÍK, Iceland — Few countries can compete with Iceland when it comes to renewable energy. The island nation gets nearly 100 percent of its electric power from green sources, and Iceland has championed the use of both geothermal energy and hydroelectricity.
That makes the country a model for a world trying to fight climate change — which is ironic because Iceland’s electric grid is only going to get stronger as the world gets hotter.. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.of its power from hydroelectric stations fed by glacial meltwaters.
“When the glaciers melt, then it will be more production from hydro,” said Guðlaugur Þór Þórðarson, minister of the Environment, Energy and Climate, in an interview with E&E News. “We have everything to be the mecca of green energy, and that's what we want to do.
Hydro stations are “literally producing gold for us,” said Finnbogason during a tour of the Írafoss Power Station, which is about 30 miles from Iceland’s capital Reykjavík.Þórðarson, the energy minister, acknowledged the missed opportunity. “We've got a bit complacent,” he said. “We haven't done that much when it comes to both hydro and geothermal in the last 15, 20 years.”The national power company plans to build more turbines to capture the climate-driven water surplus. Glacial runoff is expected to peak in about 40 to 50 years.“We are doing investments to be able to harness this increase of flow from the glaciers,” said Landsvirkjun CEO Hörður Arnarson.