Iceland: Worlds Largest Clean Energy

Producer Per Capita

Laura Turner Seydel | October 1, 2015 9:25 am | Comments

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In my entire life I have never breathed in purer air, drank cleaner

water or felt so naturally energized. My family and I recently visitedIceland on
a mission to encounter the countrys vast wonderland of geological extremes,
and see firsthand how Iceland rose to become the largest clean energy
producer per capita in the world. The small island nations energy use is
impressively state-of-the-art, and their commitment to harnessing renewable
energy resources is inspirational. A mere seven years ago, the country was on
the brink of environmental and financial catastrophe.

My family and I recently visited Iceland on a mission to encounter the

countrys vast wonderland of geological extremes, and see firsthand how
Iceland rose to become the largest clean energy producer per capita in the
world.
Until the 1970s, Iceland was classified as a developing country by the United
Nations Development Program. For centuries it was among the poorest in
Europe, a nation dominated by sheep farming, fishing and a dirty energy mix
of fossil fuel, imported oil and coal.
In the decades that followed, Iceland radically transformed its energy system
to one that relies on domestic renewable sources. Today, all of Icelands
electric power is generated by hydropower and geothermal energy, and about
95 percent of the nations heating demands are warmed by geothermal means.

This was accomplished through localized, profit-driven initiatives led by

communities, small villages and individual entrepreneurs.
Icelands president, lafur Ragnar Grmsson, has had a great deal to do with
the countrys turnaround during his 19 year tenure. Grmsson has been a
tireless advocate of sustainable development and an outspoken leader in
climate action. He encourages global discussion that positions the economy at
the center.
Its about the economic transformation of the country to realize that the move
from fossil fuel over to clean energy is fundamentally good businessits
fundamentally the road to prosperity and economic achievement, said
Grmsson to an audience at Cornell.

Turner Foundation trip to Iceland and Greenland. Photo credit: Laura Seydel

In addition to enhanced quality of life and health of its citizens, Icelands clean
energy economy helped its people survive the banking collapse. Thanks in
large part to the cost of heating and electricity for ordinary families, homes
and businesses being comparatively very low to other European countries.
With the long-term availability of clean energy at fixed prices, Iceland has
become highly attractive for foreign investments. Some of the biggest
aluminum smelters, data-storage centers, high tech industries and other
thriving enterprises are now based in Iceland.

Worlds First Solar Powered Airport Has

Arrived
Cole Mellino | August 20, 2015 10:42 am | Comments

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If youve been tracking Solar Impulse 2, the solar airplane circumnavigating

the globe, then you will be excited to hear this news: the Cochin International
Airport in the southern state of Kerala, India is officially the worlds first
airport thats runs exclusively on solar power. The entire facility is absolutely

power neutralmeaning it creates just as much energy as it consumes,

according to a statementfrom the airport.
The airport just launched a 12 megawatt solar power plant earlier this week
made up of more than 46,000 solar panels laid across 45 acres. This capacity
should allow the airport to generate 50,000 to 60,000 thousand units of
electricity per day, which is just over what the airport consumes in a typical
day. That is no small feat for Indias fourth largest international airport in
terms of passenger traffic. Its terminal space1.5 million square feetis
about the same size as Denver International Airport.
But they didnt go 100 percent solar overnight. The project began in 2013
with a small solar panel array on the rooftops of its terminals. Over the next
couple years, the airport relied on a mixture of solar and power from the grid.
However, the airport is still connected to the grid, should the normally sunsoaked area experience an extended period of overcast days. As for its impact,
the airport claims the array will cut an estimated 300,000 tons of carbon
emissions over the next 25 years, the equivalent to planting 3 million trees.
The news comes on the heels of a report from the International Energy Agency
which found that renewables are now the worlds second largest source of
electricity. The evidence of that transition is everywhere. Another airport in
India, Kolkatas Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport, has laid
out plans to go solar too. The Times of India reports that solar projects are
popular at airports in the U.S., Canada and Germany. The Indian
government plans to invest $100 billion in solar power in the next seven years
to boost its capacity from the existing four gigawatt to 100 gigawatt by 2022.
Many high profile companies in the U.S. have invested heavily in renewable
energy in recent months as well. Last month, Facebook announced it
would power a new data center in Texas with 100 percent wind
energy. Amazon announced earlier this summer that it will build an 80
megawatt solar farm in Accomack County on the eastern shore of Virginia.
And in a real coup de grce for dirty energy, Google announced it plans
to build a data center powered by 100 percent renewables at a soon-to-be
closed coal-fired plant in Alabama.