Leading engineers have urged the UK Government to reconsider setting up a geothermal power link between Scotland and Iceland to solve the country’s power needs.
Plans were first mooted three years ago to build a 500MW geothermal plant in Iceland, with a direct, subsea power line to northern Scotland carrying power from the facility.
Now the Institution of Mechanical Engineers has called for the idea to be looked at again as a short-term solution for providing cost-effective energy for the UK.
The call comes as the National Grid and their Danish counterparts Energinet agreed a deal to look at the feasibility of an electricity interconnector between the UK and Denmark.
The proposed Scotland-Iceland scheme would see a 750-mile connection to a plant on Iceland producing up to 1GW – around double the current output of the country.
“Doubling the capacity by 2020 represents a challenge, but is achievable.
“For example since 2010 in Kenya: 280MW of geothermal is under construction for operation in 2014; 646MW is being procured for 2016; and an additional 495MW is in development for commercial operation in 2018,” the Institution explained in its report.
“Similarly in the last seven years, seven projects have been developed in New Zealand with a total installed capacity of 550MW.”
Geothermal energy provides a significant amount of Iceland’s power, with more than a quarter of their output coming from geothermal sources.
“We know that both national and international geothermal energy sources could benefit the UK, but currently the exploration risks and electricity market regime mean that they are not attractive enough for commercial investigation,” said the Institution’s head of energy, Tim Fox.
“Despite a clear potential for geothermal in the UK, both in heat and power, the support regime here is uncompetitive compared with other European countries.
“The UK Government provides just half the level of support for geothermal energy seen in Germany, where an industry that employed 6,000 people and attracted billions in investment was developed.”
Renewable energy industry body Scottish Renewables welcomed the call for a renewed look at the Iceland-Scotland power line idea.
“Geothermal springs are an ancient source of heating and modern geothermal technology has the potential to be a part of our future energy mix,” said Stephanie Clark, policy officer at Scottish Renewables
“We welcome any innovations in the area of renewable heat as heating currently represents over 50% of total energy demand, produces 47% of Scotland’s COemissions and accounts for 60% of domestic energy costs.”