A report compiled for the Ministry of Industry has reached the conclusion that Iceland could be producing much more electricity than it is now, and that exporting it could bring returns in the tens of billions of crowns.
RÚV reports that among the data brought forth in the study, the country could produce up to 50 terawatts of electricity through hydropower and geothermal energy. By comparison, the country’s total electricity consumption is at 17 terawatts.
After taking national parks and other protected areas into account as off-limits, this still leaves an additional 18 terawatts that Iceland could be producing, which could mean returns of up to 60 billion ISK per year or more.
The report recommends that increased power generation be sold to a variety of companies, from small to large. It also advises against long-term energy agreements, and that ways be found to increase energy charges to businesses.
In this context, the idea of an undersea cable is brought up. Such a cable, extending for example to Scotland, could put Icelandic power companies in a better financial position, as energy rates are far greater in mainland Europe than they are here.
In fact, the national power company Landsvirkjun has been doing research on an idea for a 700 megawatt undersea cable. The results of that research are expected at the end of the year.
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