Electricity Generation
Generation of Electricity using geothermal energy
Generating electricity with geothermal energy has increased significantly in recent years. As a result of a rapid expansion in Iceland's energy intensive industry, the demand for electricity has increased considerably.
The figure on the right shows the development from 1970-2008. The installed generation capacity of geothermal power plants totaled 575 MWe in 2008 and the production was 4,038 GWh, or 24.5% of the country's total electricity production. It is predicted that generation of electricity in the year 2009 will increase to 4,600 GWh due to the enlargement of Hellisheidi geothermal power plant in the year 2008 by 90 MW.
Electricity consumption
The figure here on the right shows how the aluminum industry in Iceland used up to 90% of the produced electricity in the year 2008.