Iceland
Green Shift Initiatives in Iceland
Iceland has been in the news recently for showing the world how much geothermal energy we have. It literally gushes from the ground.
One of the first thing early settlers in Iceland noticed was the island localized hot spots. We have a lot of our towns and popular locations named after those hot spots, for example Reykjavík, or the Bay of smoke/steam, Hveragerði, which translates to field of geysers, and of course Geysir, where the english language gets the name geyser from.
Over 25% of houses in Iceland are heated directly with geothermal energy, and a further 45% is heated with electricity that originates from geothermal powerstations. The rest of the power generated for the puplic comes from hydroelectic ( 20%) and after that there is wind, solar, and then last fossil fuels, which count about 2% of the total heating.
There are still a handful of remote villages in Iceland that rely entirely on diesel generators, such as Grímsey, which is a tiny island located at the Artic Circle. The power generator in Grímsey also serves as the main heating source for the local pool area and local houses, as they use heat exchangers to utilize the coolant from the diesel engines.
Vestmanneyjar is also an interesting case. It is the largest island in Iceland, home to about 4200 people today. At the start of the last century, they got all of their power from a couple of diesel generators. In the late 1950s, they were looking into other options and one of them was a nuclear reactor from General Electic. Fortunately, that idea ended up being rejected, because just over a decade later over a fifth of that island was covered in lava in the eruption of Heimaeyar. In 2019, they got heat pump that uses the heated sea close to the active geothermal area. With just those pumps the island cut down the power usage to a third of what it was before.
In this graph, you can see how much the energy production has shifted from importing most of our energy in the form of oil and coal, to utilizing our natural resources and producing ten times the energy we import. This shift has been in no small part the result of the Icelandic government trying to make the country self-reliant on energy.
Renewable energy leadership
Geothermal and hydropower dominance: Iceland generates over 99% of its electricity from renewable sources, primarily hydropower (approximately 80%) and geothermal energy (approximately 20%). This transition to renewable energy was achieved in the 1970s, making Iceland a pioneer in sustainable energy.
Carbon neutrality goals: Iceland aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2040. The capital city, Reykjavík, has set an ambitious target to become carbon neutral by 2040.
Sustainable transportation
Electric vehicle adoption: As of 2022, electric vehicles (EVs) accounted for around 60% of new car sales in Iceland, making it one of the highest EV adoption rates globally. Approximately 14% of the country's passenger car fleet is electrified. The government plans to ban the import of petrol and diesel cars after 2030 to further promote sustainable transportation.
Green public transportation: The public bus company, Strætó bs, has incorporated electric buses into its fleet, with plans to convert entirely to zero-emission vehicles by 2030.
Leadership in Sustainable Business Practices
Presidential Advocacy: Halla Tómasdóttir, elected president of Iceland in 2024, advocates for integrating environmental and social well-being into economic practices, challenging the traditional emphasis on profit over sustainability.