Europe: Alternative Energy Iceland - Geothermal

Japan's Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) has won an order from Reykjavik Energy, a city-owned utility in Iceland, to build two 40 MW (megawatt) geothermal power plants at Hellisheidi, approximately 20 kilometers east of Reykjavik. The order marks the eighth geothermal power plant assigned to MHI by the utility provider.

Iceland, known as the "Land of Fire and Ice," is located where the Eurasian and North American plates meet. A country of numerous volcanoes, Iceland is well suited to use of geothermal energy. Because of abundant water supply, however, the country relies on hydroelectric generation to meet approximately 90% of its power demand, but the remainder depends chiefly on geothermal power. Very few plants use fossil fuels such as coal or oil as their energy source. In this way, Iceland obtains almost its entire power supply from clean energy resources.

Outside Japan, to date MHI has delivered geothermal power plants to 11 countries worldwide, including Iceland, the United States, Mexico, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Zealand, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Kenya. Their combined power output exceeds 2 GigaWatts.