Amid all the wonders of Iceland – the silver waterfalls and powerful geysers, the black sand beaches and the vast green tundra – the island’s ability to heat more than 90 per cent of its homes using geothermal energy is one of the most impressive from an engineer’s perspective.
Geothermal energy has a low carbon footprint and simply never runs out – or at least not as long as the Earth is here. It is reliable and consistent baseload energy: There is no need to wait for the sun to shine or the wind to blow. There are no troublesome imports and exports laden with price shocks and political disputes. Finally, geothermal energy is silent and unobtrusive. It does not disrupt the local landscape, as do energy sources that require extensive mining.
Since the Viking days, Iceland has been using geothermal energy in some form for heating and bathing. In addition to heating most of its homes with the Earth’s warmth, the country also generates 27 per cent of its electricity from geothermal sources.
Enteq Technologies plc (LON:NTQ) develops and supplies equipment for Measurement, Logging and Geo-steering while drilling of wells for the Geothermal, Oil and Gas markets.
