Increasing energy security for the future

The following article appeared in Fréttablaðið on 17 November 2022

ÍSOR's goal is to be a global leader in advice on the sustainable utilization of geothermal energy and thereby support Iceland's policy and emphasis in environmental, resource and energy matters.

Geological resources are almost everything that the earth holds, and our goal is to be a global leader in advice in fields such as, for example, geothermal energy, groundwater, hydropower and various minerals; our goal is to be a global leader in advice in that field," says Steinþór Níelsson, geologist and Head of Utilization Division at ÍSOR.

„ÍSOR's main activity is to provide services and advice in connection with geothermal energy, but also in various other fields. Within our ranks are highly qualified people in the fields of geosciences, chemistry and engineering. We also possess various highly specialized equipment. We use knowledge of Iceland's geology primarily to search for and find geothermal energy both for electricity production and house heating, but also for various other direct uses, such as water for hot tubs, swimming pools, greenhouse cultivation and all kinds of industry. We use the same methodology to search for drinking water for our taps all over the country. These are our main subjects."

Export of geothermal knowledge at ÍSOR

„We have also carried out other geoscientific research, such as gold prospecting, general geological mapping, seabed research, and for decades we have exported knowledge of geothermal energy.

We emphasize resource mapping with a view to increasing knowledge of Iceland's geological resources and thereby supporting informed decision-making by the authorities about utilization or conservation, but there is a great deal of work undone here in Iceland. We want access to green energy to improve with increased education, both for the public in Iceland as well as promoting the training of specialists out in the world to accelerate the development of green energy sources globally. Thus we want to support the sustainable utilization of resources and increase energy security for the future. When it comes to resource utilization itself, we promote increasing efficient and economical resource utilization by proposing responsible utilization of resources.

At the early stages of geothermal research, geological and fracture mapping is carried out, sampling and chemical analysis of geothermal water and various geophysical measurements. These data are then used to locate boreholes to reach the geothermal energy. When the geothermal energy is in use, ÍSOR offers highly specialized services with borehole measurements, and ÍSOR owns equipment that can measure the type of strata along with the temperature and condition of the geothermal reservoir. We have measured, from very shallow (a few tens of meters) exploration wells down to nearly 5 kilometers depth where the temperature can be well over 400°C. These data are used to assess the reserves of the geothermal systems and to assist energy companies in utilizing the resource in the most sustainable way possible."

Steinþór also mentions that ÍSOR has managed to use the knowledge that has built up in Iceland to assist other nations in building up their own geothermal industry.

„ÍSOR now hosts the GRÓ Geothermal Training Program (GRÓ-Geothermal Training Program), which is one of Iceland's main contributions to development assistance in this field. Specialists from various developing countries come here for six months of training in the geothermal sector. Thus we promote the rise of geothermal energy in other countries and help developing countries to obtain energy for their citizens and to use for this much more environmentally friendly options than coal, oil, gas or other non-ecological energy sources. Thus we want to improve access for the inhabitants of the Earth to green energy."

Challenges ahead

„What is at the top of the agenda these days is that we feel that the demand for hot water in Iceland has increased greatly. Usage has increased a lot and several factors are decisive there, for example population growth, the build-up of industry and increased activity all around the country due to tourists. There has also been an increase in bathing lagoons and smaller industry that uses hot water directly from the ground.

We are so fortunate here at home that during the energy crisis in the 1960s and 1970s a major effort was made to provide Iceland with district heating. This was done, not for environmental reasons at that point in time, but rather it was considered cheaper in the longer term than importing expensive oil for heating. The district heating systems have thus saved Iceland enormous funds and have at the same time considerably reduced our carbon footprint. It is estimated that the district heating system in Reykjavík saves about 3 million tonnes of CO2 annually, while Iceland's total emissions are estimated to be just under 5 million tonnes of CO2 annually. There are opportunities to do better and, for example, oil has been used in the Westfjords to heat up the municipalities, temporarily, where there is a shortage of hot water. There, however, are probably unexploited possibilities in the use of geothermal energy, but research must be undertaken to find that resource. There are challenges ahead in maintaining the quality of life that geothermal energy provides us by ensuring sensible utilization and at the same time finding new areas, but one must think decades into the future, especially for the large population centers in the southwest and in the north. Demand for green energy has increased domestically and we want to be equipped to meet it.

Likewise we feel increased demand from abroad, both in providing advice to foreign parties who want to use geothermal energy for electricity production or directly, such as for example the Spanish oil company Repsol, with whom we are working to map the geothermal resource in the Canary Islands. We are also working for an Indian state oil company on research and geothermal drilling in the Himalayas and on a consultancy project for the government of Tanzania in connection with research drilling. In Dominica in the Caribbean, where about 70 thousand people live, we are engaged in research and advice that concerns harnessing geothermal energy on the island and making it independent of imports of fossil fuels, to the great benefit of the country and nation and no less for the benefit of climate matters. We are fond of these projects, as we see the results that lie in people's living standards improving with access to energy, countries' carbon footprints decreasing, and we see directly in action that work is being done towards the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, but it is ÍSOR's stated goal to support the reduction of the world's carbon footprint and to help with the energy transition."

Supporting the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals

„Icelandic authorities have set themselves lofty goals of carbon neutrality and increased use of green energy sources and sustainable utilization of resources. According to Steinþór, ÍSOR possesses knowledge and experience in various fields, especially those concerning the utilization of the geothermal and groundwater resource.

„Our ambition is that the services and solutions we offer benefit the Earth and its inhabitants, and deliver prosperity to the areas where we are working. Our goal is to be a leader in advice on the utilization of geological resources, especially geothermal energy, and that this advice serves our customers well in addition to supporting Iceland's emphases in environmental, resource and energy matters here at home as well as in international cooperation. Thus we want to support the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals," says Steinþór finally.