Landsvirkjun, the national power company, says that they want to raise one or two experimental wind turbines to research how wind power might fare in Iceland.
The company has expressed an interest in wind power for some time now. A research group assembled by Landsvirkjun in 2010, working in conjunction with Icewind―a pan-Scandinavian team looking to develop wind power in the Nordic countries―has concluded that wind power is a very realistic option for Iceland. They believe that building wind turbines in the southwest would be the best option.
Now it seems as though the option is one step closer to becoming a reality, as they plan on raising one or two 45-metre-tall wind turbines near the Búrfellsvirkjun plant in southwest Iceland.
Óli Grétar Blöndal Sveinsson, head of research and development at Landsvirkjun, believes that if the experiment yields promising results, Iceland could catch up with other Nordic countries, with wind power comprising a significant proportion of our electricity. “Wind power is the one alternative energy source that has shown the most promise, and is growing the fastest in neighbouring countries,” he said.
“The greatest advantages are we live in a windy country,” he added. “The conditions are better [for wind power] here than in some other countries. Usage time is twice as long as the global average, there is plenty of open land, and the conditions are similar to the open sea.”
The project is expect to kick off some time next year.
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