Atlantica - 01.06.2001, Page 63

Through a complex system of pipes, it
arrives, fresh and pure to fill our glass-
es. It dives down under our pavements,
melting away the loose ice and snow. It
rushes into our radiators, making a
wave of warmth billow through our
homes. It suds up in our baths, and
holds our weary frames at the end of a
long, hard day. It swirls through a com-
plex process and its energy is caught in
the form of electricity. A switch flips and
it bubbles under a bobbing, boiling egg
and swarms round shoals of dark coffee
grains in the morning.
Water is more precious than gold, yet
we simply splash it on and then dry it
away. Here in Iceland, there are so
many natural opportunities, and
Reykjavík Energy not only provides
renewable power and geothermal water
supplies for the whole greater Reykjavík
region, but has harnessed geothermal
resources and handles power provision
in such a way that makes Iceland a
world leader for environmentally friend-
ly energy usage.
In every home, every individual
depends on the fruit of Reykjavík
Energy’s efforts at the Nesjavellir power
plant in the Hengill area, at
Gvendarbrunnar, and in Mosfellsbær. At
the end of the day, the complex tale of
the source of geothermal water and the
process that it moves through before
charging out of our taps with a tri-
umphant blast or powering the little
electrons that race unseen around the
many electrical circuits in our home,
matters little when one is lazing in a
warm, spacious bath. Or like Ólöf, sway-
ing in the water, gently moving arms
and legs, a head resting in the crook of
her elbow. Water makes our days. “We
don’t work in the pool for more than
two-and-a-half hours a day because if
we are longer than that, we can get
drowsy in the warmth of the water,”
says Olöf.
Life really comes together when we are
surrounded by water, and in Reykjavík,
it’s everywhere, which brings us back to
the people at Reykjavík Energy, without
whom not a drop would flow, nor a light
bulb twitch. These people can capture
the energy from an angry burst of
steam and make cool, fresh water swim
into your home. They perform aqua
magic. JMcC P
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WATER
060-061 ATL 4/01Orkuveita-rm 21.6.2001 14:22 Page 61