Volcanic Power Deal for U.K. and Iceland

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Written by Martin Lynch, European News Editor for Industrial Info (Galway, Ireland) -- The U.K. has followed through on its intentions to harness electricity from Iceland's volcanoes by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the country.

The MoU was signed by Iceland's Energy Minister Oddný G. Harðardóttir and the U.K.'s Energy Minister, Charles Hendry, during his visit to the Hellisheidi geothermal field, located on an active volcanic ridge in the south west of the country.

The countries have agreed to exchange information on the development of the deep geothermal sector in the U.K., including the supply of heat to district heating networks, as well as explore the possibility of creating an electricity interconnection between Iceland and the U.K.. The MoU covers working together on the international development of renewable energy projects in developing countries with a special focus on East Africa. They have also agreed to exchange information regarding the development of oil and gas industries, including offshore drilling.

"Today's agreement will help pave the way for a closer relationship with Iceland, which I hope can yield significant benefits for the UK, including the development of geothermal power, greater use of interconnectors to transport energy under the sea, and developing oil and gas resources," explained Hendry. "This sort of approach can both enhance our energy security and deliver low carbon electricity in an affordable way."

The possibility of an interconnector between the two countries was first raised last month. For additional information see May 9, 2012, article - U.K. Investigates Volcanic Power.

Measuring an estimated 1,200 kilometres (Km), the Iceland-U.K. cable would be the world's longest electrical transmission cable. It would form part of Europe's 'supergrid' plan to interconnect a number of electricity grids via the North Sea in an effort to secure its electricity supply and create a back-up system for the growing amount of wind energy. Iceland is eager to start exporting power from its geothermal resources to the rest of Europe.

Iceland's largest energy producer, the state-owned Landsvirkjun (Reykjavík, Iceland), has been investigating the potential for a link to Europe for some time. It believes it could export 5 billion kilowatt hours (KwH) per year, which would net between €268 million ($350 million) and €344 million ($448 million) annually.

Last month also saw an agreement between the U.K. and Denmark on the possible connection of their electricity grids. The proposed subsea cable would be the first electricity power connection between the two countries. For additional information see May 2, 2012, article - Denmark and U.K. Looking to Connect Power Grids.

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