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Soaking in outdoor hot tubs warmed by geothermal heat has been part of Icelandic life as much as drinking aquavit, so it comes as no surprise that Bank of Iceland, Íslandsbanki, is focusing on geothermal development in the U.S.
Íslandsbanki’s ‘Sustainable Energy' team provides development support by connecting industry and investors with the different divisions and product groups within the Bank. As it has done for the last two years, Íslandsbanki participated in the 2009 Geothermal Energy Expo earlier this month, which was held by the U.S. Geothermal Energy Association in Reno, Nevada.
Iceland has use geothermal energy for centuries and has been harnessed to heat more than 95 percent of all homes and businesses as well as approximately 25 percent of the country's electricity needs, according to Íslandsbanki. Electricity is generated by extracting hot steam from naturally forming reservoirs in the earth's crust. Worldwide geothermal energy is around 10GW, Íslandsbanki estimates, with the U.S. in the top position with 3 GW installed.
According to a 2009 report by the Geothermal Energy Association, the U.S. continues to lead the world in online geothermal energy capacity and growth. Calculations done in September showed that geothermal electric power generation is taking place in eight states: Alaska, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming. Additional states, such as Oregon, Colorado, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi, will be added to the list, the report says.
Íslandsbanki’s third annual U.S. Geothermal Energy Market Report says there are currently 144 geothermal energy projects in development in the U.S.
The Geothermal Energy Association also notes that the geothermal heat pump industry has grown steadily for the last four years and geothermal heat pump shipments increased by 36 percent in 2007.
Glacier Partners Corp., a corporate advisory firm focused on the geothermal energy sector, which co-organized the Reno geothermal expo, recently released a “Geothermal Economics 101” white paper.
In June, Popular Science reported that Iceland’s geothermal energy might help it emerge from a difficult recession sparked by the global financial crisis. So far, on Oct. 20, Iceland-based Mannvit Engineering announced a partnership with Technip to develop geothermal projects in the U.S., using Technip's Claremont, California operating center. Also, Icelandic-American firm Carbon Recycling International began construction of a CO2-to-Methanol plant at the Svartsengi geothermal power plant in Iceland and production is expected to start in 2010.
