Orkustofnun - National Energy Authority of Iceland |
Orkustofnun, the National Energy Authority, has three main areas of responsibility:
- To advise the government on energy issues and related topics
- To issue licences for the prospecting, exploration and production of hydrocarbons
- To carry out energy research and provide consulting services related to energy development and energy utilisation
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Iceland has abundant energy potential in the form of geothermal energy and hydropower. Energy consumption per capita in Iceland is among the highest in the world.
About 90% of all housing in the country is heated with geothermal energy; the remainder being heated mainly with electricity.
The majority of the country's electricity (80%) is generated using hydropower; the remainder being based on geothermal power.
Only 20 to 25 % of the technically and environmentally feasible hydropower, and only 20% of the conventional geothermal potential available for electricity production in Iceland, have been harnessed.
(Statistics for 2007, projected to 2008)
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