Reykjavík Grapevine - 05.11.2011, Page 8

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ATV ADVENTURES ICELAND
8
The Reykjavík Grapevine
Issue 17 — 2011
Iceland | Environment
One of Iceland's proudest assets is
its energy grid. Geothermal energy,
by 2010 figures, accounts for just
over 26% of the country's electric-
ity, as well as 86% of its heating
and hot water. Iceland's geothermal
energy technology has been shared
with countries around the world,
and has attracted the interests of
foreign investors.
However comparatively cleaner for the
environment, geothermal power is not
without its problems. One of these is
the main elephant in the room: geother-
mal energy is not a renewable energy
source. Boreholes that tap into the mas-
sive steam vents below the surface do
not last forever. When Ross Beatty, CEO
of Magma Energy (now Alterra Power
Corp.) made the specious claim that
geothermal energy lasts for centuries,
scientists such as Stefán Arnórsson
and Sigmundur Einarsson were quick to
point out that geothermal power in the
Reykjanes area—where Magma sought
to drill—only had enough power to last
about 60 years at best. Although this
point was seldom, if ever, brought up
in any previous discussion about geo-
thermal power in Iceland, more recent
events have shown that geothermal
energy is not just non-renewable; it can
even pollute.
DON'T DRINK THE WATER
First of all, the steam that geothermal
energy taps does release a number of
harmful emissions. The International
Geothermal Association released a re-
port in 2002 showing that these emis-
sions can include carbon dioxide, hy-
drogen sulfide, methane and ammonia.
These emissions are linked to global
warming, and can do extensive environ-
mental damage. Even the water itself
can be poisonous—the scientific journal
Environmental Contamination Toxicol-
ogy published a study in 1997 which
showed that waste water can contain
chemicals such as mercury, arsenic and
boron.
In order to reduce the amount of
pollutants that geothermal power pro-
duces, it is necessary to take a num-
ber of precautions, such as recycling
the steam through a series of com-
pressors and pumps. The waste water
needs to be channelled deep back into
the ground, to prevent it from poison-
ing drinking water tables. Both of these
precautions were outlined in the 2007
scholarly article ‘Strategic GHG reduc-
tion through the use of ground source
heat pump technology’. This last point
has been the centrepiece of the con-
troversy surrounding one such plant in
Iceland, Hellisheiðarvirkjun.

The largest power plant in Iceland—
and slated to be the largest in the world
once it reaches its full capacity—is lo-
cated in the geologically active Hengill
area of southwest Iceland, comprised
primarily of a chain of three volcanoes.
The up-side of this is that a tremendous
amount of power can be generated here:
the plant estimates 400 megawatts will
be reached once the two additional tur-
bines added earlier this month are in full
swing. The down-side is: geological ac-
tivity means earthquakes.
The sheer amount of geological ac-
tivity in the area cannot be underem-
phasised. Hundreds of tremors were
reported in the Hengill area on a single
day last September, and concerns were
immediately raised that these tremors—
some of them measuring 3 or higher on
the Richter scale—could do damage to
the pipeline that pumps waste water
back into the ground, below drinking
water tables. Steinunn Jakobsdóttir of
the National Weather Service told Stöð
2 news at the time that larger quakes
could not be ruled out.
The plant itself had already been
targeted by environmentalists as dam-
aging to the environment, from a de-
velopmental standpoint, with Saving
Iceland trying to bring attention to the
plant's overall effects on the landscape.
The notion that poisonous waste water
could be broken free from pipes, and
spilled into drinking water, turned the
dial up on the anxiety.
NOTHING CAN POSSIBlY GO
WRONG!
These concerns were immediately ad-
dressed by Bjarni Bjarnason, director
of Orkuveita Reykjavíkur, the power
company that oversees the plant. He
told RÚV earlier this month that he did
not believe waste water pipes were in
any danger of being damaged by earth-
quakes, and added: “We see no danger
[of waste water poisoning ground wa-
ter] so long as we pump it at least 800
metres into the earth.”
But research done on the drilling
does not necessarily support Bjarni's
claim. An environmental assessment
conducted on the plant in 2006 by the
South Iceland Health Supervisory Au-
thority arrived at the conclusion that
they “put a great deal of emphasis on
closing the construction of the waste
water disposal system and the area
used to dispose of the water,” meaning
that the area itself for pumping waste
water back into the ground was far
from ideal. Research conducted by the
nearby municipality of Ölfus in March
of this year concluded that there were
not enough controls in place to even
be able to handle the regular amount of
waste water being produced under nor-
mal circumstances.
Despite these warnings, construc-
tion steamed ahead, and any criticism
of waste water polluting drinking water
was dismissed as alarmist. That is, un-
til it was discovered that that's exactly
what happened.
STRANGE BREW
Only weeks ago, it was discovered that
Hellisheiðarvirkjun had been pump-
ing waste water containing hydrogen
sulphide into drinking water tables, on
and off, for two years. The reason? Be-
fore a new waste water borehole was
completed last September, another one
at the Gráuhnjúka area had been used
instead. This borehole did not have
the capacity to deal with the amount
of waste water it had to contend with,
and so it released it, through a valve
intended only for emergencies, into the
drinking water tables.
Residents of nearby Hveragerði
were less than pleased with this news,
and called a town meeting demanding
an explanation. They have been assured
by Orkuveita Reykjavíkur that with the
new waste water borehole in place, this
practice will not continue. They also
emphasised that their scientists do not
believe the pumping of waste water
into the ground will increase the risk of
earthquakes. No mentions were made,
however, on how well these pipes could
hold up in the event of a strong enough
quake—and strong earthquakes are not
exactly uncommon to the area.
WHERE DOES THIS lEAVE US?
If geothermal power—Iceland's crown
jewel of green energy—is neither sus-
tainable nor non-polluting, does this
mean we need to turn exclusively to
hydropower, which comprises the re-
mainder of the country's power source?
What about oil, which is believed to lie
beneath the seabed in Drekasvæði, the
northern corner of Icelandic fishing wa-
ters?
There might not actually be a di-
chotomy at all—other green resources
may exist. While Iceland is far from ideal
when it comes to solar energy, and wave
power is still proving to be both expen-
sive to build and maintain, anyone who
has ever visited the country can attest
that if there is one thing Iceland has
plenty of, it's wind.
A research group assembled by
Landsvirkjun in 2010, working in con-
junction with Icewind—a pan-Scandi-
navian team looking to develop wind
power in the Nordic countries—has con-
cluded that wind power is a very realis-
tic option for Iceland. They believe that
building wind turbines in the southwest
would be the best option.
Úlfar Linnet, an energy expert at
Landsvirkjun, told Fréttablaðið that the
matter should be explored seriously.
"The goal is to have Iceland in step with
the other Nordic countries," he said in
part. "We're starting at zero, as a wind-
mill has never been raised in Iceland.
But we're making progress."
In fact, just last July Icelander Haral-
dur Magnússon successfully raised a
30 KW windmill on top of Hafnarfjall
mountain, which immediately went into
operation. MP Mörður Árnason—who is
also the chairperson of the National En-
ergy Authority Research Fund—believes
that while figures do not seem to indi-
cate that wind power is a competitive
option at the moment, it would be hasty
to dismiss the option altogether. Indeed,
there are many vast, uninhabited and
perpetually windy areas in Iceland, par-
ticularly in the Highlands, which would
make ideal grounds for a wind farm.
Whether the Icelandic government
devotes more time and energy into ex-
ploring wind power remains to be seen.
In the meantime, Hellisheiðarvirkjun is
inadvertently repeating the point that
geothermal power is not as green as it
seems, and that it may be time for Ice-
land to put its pride and joy to rest.
It Ain't Easy Being Green
Why even the most environmentally friendly energy sources can still be bad for the climate
“Only weeks ago, it was discovered that
Hellisheiðarvirkjun had been pumping waste water
containing hydrogen sulphide into drinking water tables,
on and off, for two years.”
WHAT? ARE YOU SAYING GEOTHERMAL ENERGY ISN'T ENTIRELY,
TOTALLY GREEN? Still. It's probably greener than coal. Right? Coal
is usually black. Geothermal energy is usually more steam coloured,
like an off white mist. Or does it maybe look like water? Who knows!
Words
Paul Fontaine
Photo
Alísa Kalyanova