Britain’s Minister of Energy, Charles Hendry, will arrive in Iceland today to sign a willingness agreement between the two countries.
RÚV reports that Hendry is expected today, and will sign a willingness agreement with Minister of Industry Oddný G. Harðardóttir regarding that Hellisheiðarvirkjun geothermal energy facility.
According to a statement sent from the British embassy to the media, the purpose of the agreement is to increase friendship between the two countries, with emphasis placed on renewable energy and the development of geothermal power in Britain. The UK is also interested in working with Iceland to develop geothermal energy in east Africa.
Hendry’s name might ring a bell to Grapevine readers – about six weeks ago, he publicly expressed an interest in the idea of importing electricity from Iceland by way of an undersea cable. Hendry told reporters at the time that “We will be dependent on imported energy”, and that the cables “are an absolutely critical part of energy security and for low carbon energy.”
Last year, the Ministry of Industry concluded that 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. Some amount of the unused potential could, the ministry said, be exported to other countries via undersea cable.
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