lørdag 25. september 2010

Geothermal energy revolution?

One of the reasons why I wanted to visit Iceland was the volcanic activity. The island is located on the crack between the tectonic plates of America and Europe, making the geography ideal for using geothermal energy. As a matter of fact, sixty per cent of Iceland´s inhabitants use energy from communal geothermal power plants, and in total as much as eighty per cent use the heat from the ground.

Geothermal heat is pure, renewable energy. As 99 per cent of the earth has a temperature above 1000 degrees celsius, the potential is enormous. Think about the immense opportunities!

For the best results in geothermal energy, we´re looking for the so-called "super critical water", which is found at almost four hundred degrees celsius and 10 000 meters plus. Energy
extracted from these resources can be compared with nuclear energy, but without any waste problems. It´s all natural energy!

But wait; 10 000 meters. That´s deep! But not unaccessible. I know an industry that has specialized in deep drilling...

I think the oil industry could be of invaluable help for geothermal energy; just think about it. They can, with some upgrades, provide the technology for utilizing geothermal heat resources. The industry has money, power and technical knowledge of how to drill to such depths and bring liquids up to the surface. Some oil test sites actually operate down to 12 000 m. Meaning
they know how to calculate and operate the equipment at the immense pressure and
temperature down there.

We need the financial and technical power behind the oil industry, and the industry itself needs to adapt to a green future. Isn´t geothermal energy ideal
for the case?

Geothermal heat can be extracted directly outside cities and energy intensive industry, so transportation problems for the electricity are limited. You can also produce it anywhere on earth, as long as you get deep enough into the ground.

To get geothermal energy cheaper and more available, we need a strategy. My idea is a cooperation project for exchanging knowledge, financial power and technology accross borders and academic fields.

The pictures are from my visits to Geysir and the geothermal power plant producing energy to all of Reykjavik. Impressive indeed! One last fun fact: did you know that they transport the hot water underneath the roads to keep them free of ice during the winter?

torsdag 23. september 2010


I just arrived home from my wonderful trip to Iceland. The diving course in Silfra was great, so I really want to keep up my progression! It´s like discovering a new world. And to think about all the amazing possibilities! I´m seriously going to enjoy visiting new diving sites in the coming years.

The fact that we used dry suits in 2 degrees cold water is great, because I feel like I became comfortable with diving in really tough conditions. Going to dive in 25 degrees in Indonesia doesn´t seem so frightening any more...