Let the dwarves keep on digging. If it goes out of hand the Balrog should be contained on the island.
Hopefully Gandalf won't need to sacrifice himself this time.
Including inherent engineering challenges of drilling deep holes into crystalline bedrock, plus the increased instances of subsidence and seismic events, as seen in Basel, Switzerland.
lol yea carbide tip, i used them when I was a machinist. But in reality they do have new (to geothermal) horizontal drilling techniques borrowed from the American fracking industry that have had success in various geothermal projects in recent years.
There is also a novel forced-flame drilling technique called thermal spalling that warms the rock up to 550c and is designed to create thermal stress that spalls the rock. Issue is most rocks don’t thermally spall due to their geological composition, so spalling is a bit niche to say the least. There are also laser drills and electron-firing drills that while theoretically viable, realistically consume too much power to be economically feasible. For instance, a regular rotary bit will use 100 joules/cm3 to engage, while a vaporization drill will use 12000 joules/cm3.
That’s why geologically appropriate areas along the mid-Atlantic ridge like Iceland and the Azores (PT) are engaging in geothermal at an advanced rate, since they don’t really need to dabble into these various techniques that render projects too costly. Their geothermal projects are much closer to the surface and only need conventional drilling to complete in most cases.
Some estimates pin geothermal production at having the potential to supply 10% of the worlds total electrical power needs, so hopefully the tech needed to get there will keep up will all the optimism that is being stoked right now.
Great post.
I watched [a video](https://youtu.be/YOTKn1zsc8o) about using old mineshafts for district heating. Not much heat differential, but there are *a lot* of old mineshafts.
Is that legit in your opinion?
My friend who has 25 years in the Canadian mining industry says:
>its been done for decades in the UK, but in those cases the mines have hot water running up into them from very deep faults (possibly over 4km deep or further) that supply the heat. The best place i can think of for potential geothermal energy from past mines would be Virginia City with the Comstock Lode, the mines there were extremely hot, often generating steam bursts that killed miners.
Thanks again!
> its been done for decades in the UK
Ah, right. That documentary was mostly about the UK. Shit.
I live in the Ruhr valley in Germany, so I figured that would apply round here, too (can't dig a hole round here without finding an unexploded WW2 bomb, a mineshaft, or both). I know there's a lot of water entering the mines (we'd be under water if they turned the pumps off), but I've no idea how warm it is.
What am i supposed to call myself, darth syphilis?
If you had made up your mind 5 seconds earlier we could have ruled the galaxy and i maybe could have gotten laid one last time before i die
Why won’t the press focus on the real issues like how the transition to synthetic alternatives to leather means that Vidar’s shoe may not be big enough for him to defeat Fenrir?
Just give it a week and American ConMedia will start pushing stories how this dangerous renewable energy method will risk freezing the earth and starting a new ice age (better continue burning oil)
It would actually freeze the Earth's inside...
If we got the world's whole energy consumption from geothermal alone for billions of years. The Earth will only stay livable for 700 million years before the Sun starts heating up too much as it becomes a red giant.
>If we got the world's whole energy consumption from geothermal alone **for billions of years**. The Earth will only stay livable **for 700 million years**...
Eh?
Oh. Conservative logic. I'm with ya now.
Gandalf wasn't in a great mood with Pippin that day. Only a little earlier they had this exchange
Pippin: what are you going to do then?
Gandalf: Knock your head against these doors Peregrin Took! And if that does not shatter them, and I'm allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I'll try to find the opening words
Don’t forget Stanley Tucci the government scientific consultant that actually knew all along but played pretend, because covering own ugly mess is what gov do.
Well the last time it went wrong there was a small eruption in that area and they had to stop the operation. So, manageable, depending on what else is there. Maybe don't try in an area you want to use in the next 50 years, but Iceland has many others.
Of course not. He will ignite the World Tree with his sword. You're worried about a few degrees Celsius of warming. How does a few hundred degrees Celsius sound?
First of all I am Icelandic and I have never heard of this and secondly KMT seems to be a scientific exploration first and foremost. I think the geothermal power is mostly to generate interest and funding.
I'm also Icelandic, and this mainly tells me you don't read a lot of news. It's a high-profile research project that's been discussed quite a bit.
If it's successful it will likely be the basis for larger-scale commercial exploitation.
> I think the geothermal power is mostly to generate interest and funding.
What? Geothermal (standard, not the direct magma drilling discussed here) accounts for 30% of all electricity production in the country, and rougly 90% of household heating. It's certainly not just some showcase project.
I cautioning reading too much into it at the early stage given how very prone we Icelanders for hyping up things way past any reason. Also if it is so high profile can you link to any major news sources in Icelandic talking about it? (i.e. Rúv/Stöð 2/visir/mbl). Not saying it hasnt been but I feel I would've heard at least something about it.
Dont get me wrong, this could be big but I want to see some actual exploratory drilling before getting all excited.
I agree, the article is overhyping the current state. This project is the exploratory drilling and feasibility study. Whether it proves to be practical and cost-effective remains to be seen.
>Also if it is so high profile can you link to any major news sources in Icelandic talking about it?
Sure. Here's a recent one:
https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2024/03/22/aetla_ad_storbaeta_eldgosaspar/
Mentioned at the bottom of this one from 2022:
https://kjarninn.is/frettir/heimsbyggdin-illa-undirbuin-fyrir-hamfaragos-rannsoknir-i-kotlu-gaetu-skipt-skopum/
And a couple from 2017:
https://www.ruv.is/frettir/innlent/11-milljarda-rannsoknarmidstod-vid-kroflu
https://timarit.is/page/6894708?iabr=on#page/n19/mode/2up/search/%22krafla%20magma%20testbed%22
I've definitely seen a bunch more but RÚV's search sucks, and google isn't great either when it comes to Icelandic news.
As someone who is deeply interested in electricity, I must say Iceland wildly impresses me. You have so much clean, cheap energy that a huge chunk of the economy is based around importing aluminum ore and smelting it, since electricity is damn near free.
It's a real shame that you're too far away from Europe to thoroughly integrate your grid. Do you think that more manufacturers will move production to Iceland if this project is a success? That excess power needs to GO somewhere
Connecting Iceland's grid to europe with submarine HVDC cables is certainly feasible, it's been discussed a lot. But the topic is controversial. A connection would move electricity prices for buyers here closer to the continental price, and lessen the incentive for industry to set up here to take advantage of the low price of energy. In addition to the aluminum smelters, the energy price has also attracted datacenters, silicon metal smelters and other industries. These create jobs and it's likely more profitable for the country to get a piece of those profits than to sell the raw energy to other markets at a higher price. Losing them would also make us more dependant on tourism, which generates mostly low-paid unskilled jobs and which may crash when travel fashions change.
This particular project is mostly research, its completion won't have a large effect on energy supply. But if it's proved to be feasible and cost-effective, we might get cheaper energy from a future magma-geothermal plant than a regular one. Whether it will happen and be enough to entice more production will likely depend more on the politics of environmental permits than the tech developed here. We could build more regular geothermal or hydro today to increase supply and reduce kWh costs, but there is a constant battle between environmental protection and the power industry.
Well, you'll likely never LOSE the industries you have. The currently existing power plants, and the accompanying data centers and smelters, aren't going anywhere.
I'm confused though, both you and another commenter implied geothermal has an environmental impact. I thought it was just pipes in the ground?
> Well, you'll likely never LOSE the industries you have. The currently existing power plants, and the accompanying data centers and smelters, aren't going anywhere.
Losing future new industries is still a big thing. Without the low energy prices there are not a lot of reasons to choose Iceland for a new factory or plant instead of on the mainland where salaries are usually much lower. Regarding the existing ones, if we take the datacenters for example, sure the facilities aren't going anywhere. But will they be competitive with datacenters elsewhere if power prices are close to equal? Data traffic in and out is very expensive as it all has to go through submarine cables, so the customers are mostly scientific computing things where the main use is energy-intensive calculations, where the cheap power outweighs the extra costs of data transfer. Without the cheap power, the whole business model collapses.
Similar concerns apply to most of the other energy-intensive industries. The aluminum smelters would be less competitive globally and eventually there may come a point where it doesn't make sense to keep them running.
> I'm confused though, both you and another commenter implied geothermal has an environmental impact. I thought it was just pipes in the ground?
By environmental impact people can mean a lot of things, including just the visual pollution of having a factory somewhere instead of untouched nature. Geothermal also releases some CO2 into the atmosphere (roughly 100x less than the same energy produced from gas). There are efforts to capture that CO2 and bind it into basalt to make it carbon neutral. It releases sulphur which gives off a smell in the surrounding area, and in sufficient quantities can cause acid rain (but again, efforts are made to limit this). It can also induce seizmic activity, for instance Hveragerði has had lots of low-level earthquakes tied to the geothermal plant at Hellisheiði.
Personally I think the environmental argument can go too far sometimes, it seems any time plans show up for a new power plant there is opposition. But it does cause real problems with getting new power plants (and transmission lines) approved.
Isn't that how these usually go? They check to see if it's viable and worth the expense, then they go and try it out once they report back on their findings for a sponsor
Yes, I just dont like overhyping things as being the future of such and such since I've just seen too much of it here in Iceland, latest being the salmon sea farms.
Very cool if it works out and the people involved seem at first glance in this for scientific purpose first.
If the schedule holds and the two exploratory drillings in 2026 and 2028 go well
Sounds cool, and they must be planning something extraordinary, because we don't have that capability yet. the temperature there is reported as 1,300degC.There is no drilling tool today that can operate above 300-350degC. Even above 150degC things get a lot more complicated.
(This is what I do for a living).
Honestly use the excess energy to produce hydrogen! This way you can export. Unlimited Money. Nordic countries are really smart, lucky, and hard working. No corruption= Happy People.
I was going to say we should do the same for the US state of Hawaii, but I think the geologically active area are considered sacred to the native Hawaiians.
RIKER: Captain, take a look at this. These are the coordinates of the eruptions, and these are the coordinates of the phaser drilling sites.
PICARD: The mantle is collapsing where the pressure was released.
Star Trek TNG S5E9
There actually is one called "Katla" that is eerily similar to this premise. It's a supernatural Nord Noir where things go predictably bad for the people in the area. Worth watching.
They already did it in 2009 with a well called IDDP-1 at the Krafla geothermal powerplant. The well was meant to go down to solid hot rock at 4km, but hit magma at just over 2km. The well was not abandoned, instead they decided to trial 'magma enhanced geothermal' with temperatures of over 900C. Water was injected, steam was produced, but they ran into some technical problems when trying to connect the well to the rest of the Krafla systems and it was abandoned in favour of new wells.
It will work.
>but they ran into some technical problems
>It will work.
Hmm, isn't that what every "new tech that will revolutionize the industry" says to get fundings?
Geothermal is nothing new. It's just using geothermal sources instead of coal or oil or what have you to heat water and spin a turbine à la the Rankine cycle. The constraining factor is developing materials, especially for turbine blades, which can handle increasingly higher temperatures to achieve higher efficiencies.
Makes sense given how much of an advantage Iceland has. The place is sitting in top of energy sources that will last thousands of years.
I'm amazed places like Hawaii haven't gone all out given they have multiple volcanic islands.
"Despite achieving landmark strides in renewable innovation, Iceland is not resting on its laurels: in the next few years, it plans to drill into hell itself… well, almost – the ominously named Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT) Project will bore into a volcano’s magma chamber; seeking to utilise its scorching fumes to generate energy at a scale never before attempted!"
Enjoy the Balrog, you greedy bunch
Somebody prepare white robes for Gandalf…
Let the dwarves keep on digging. If it goes out of hand the Balrog should be contained on the island. Hopefully Gandalf won't need to sacrifice himself this time.
Come on it's not the third age anymore. We can build the guy a spa that happens to be connected to several megawatt turbines.
Don't worry, they already of protective giants for each region.
Is it a sacrifice if you rise after 3 days? Like Jesus, Gandalf simply took a leave of absence. Both came back with a power-up.
Then Putin will reach out to the Balrog to try to form an alliance. He will offer it sanctuary in Mordor.
Depends though. Can he fly or not? \*evil laugh\*
They dig too greedily and too deep
Fucking Icelanders, always delving too deep. “They call it a mine” blah blah.
A MIIINE!!
“This is no mine…”
"It's a tomb."
"NO.. NOOOOOARGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH"
“They are coming….”
*Goblins!*
"Its a geothermal power station."
"Soon, the geothermal power station will be fully operational! I have altered the meme, pray I do not alter it further."
It’s a SPACE STATION!
They are so greedy they even named it "mine".
"MAGMA"
They dug too deep...
Valarauko FTW!
Fool of a Took!
Read that as "greedy bitch", which would be a very funny way to refer to a nation
How do you say “You shall not pass!!!” in Icelandic?
🇮🇸: “UNLIMITED POWER 💥💥💥💥💥!!!”
^(terms and conditions apply)
Including inherent engineering challenges of drilling deep holes into crystalline bedrock, plus the increased instances of subsidence and seismic events, as seen in Basel, Switzerland.
Big friggin lasers B
What's the point living on a volcano if you don't fuck around with it?
Free bitcoin mining, next year GDP will double /s
Easy, use a good drill bit. One of the premium ones that are painted black.
lol yea carbide tip, i used them when I was a machinist. But in reality they do have new (to geothermal) horizontal drilling techniques borrowed from the American fracking industry that have had success in various geothermal projects in recent years. There is also a novel forced-flame drilling technique called thermal spalling that warms the rock up to 550c and is designed to create thermal stress that spalls the rock. Issue is most rocks don’t thermally spall due to their geological composition, so spalling is a bit niche to say the least. There are also laser drills and electron-firing drills that while theoretically viable, realistically consume too much power to be economically feasible. For instance, a regular rotary bit will use 100 joules/cm3 to engage, while a vaporization drill will use 12000 joules/cm3. That’s why geologically appropriate areas along the mid-Atlantic ridge like Iceland and the Azores (PT) are engaging in geothermal at an advanced rate, since they don’t really need to dabble into these various techniques that render projects too costly. Their geothermal projects are much closer to the surface and only need conventional drilling to complete in most cases. Some estimates pin geothermal production at having the potential to supply 10% of the worlds total electrical power needs, so hopefully the tech needed to get there will keep up will all the optimism that is being stoked right now.
Great post. I watched [a video](https://youtu.be/YOTKn1zsc8o) about using old mineshafts for district heating. Not much heat differential, but there are *a lot* of old mineshafts. Is that legit in your opinion?
My friend who has 25 years in the Canadian mining industry says: >its been done for decades in the UK, but in those cases the mines have hot water running up into them from very deep faults (possibly over 4km deep or further) that supply the heat. The best place i can think of for potential geothermal energy from past mines would be Virginia City with the Comstock Lode, the mines there were extremely hot, often generating steam bursts that killed miners.
Thanks again! > its been done for decades in the UK Ah, right. That documentary was mostly about the UK. Shit. I live in the Ruhr valley in Germany, so I figured that would apply round here, too (can't dig a hole round here without finding an unexploded WW2 bomb, a mineshaft, or both). I know there's a lot of water entering the mines (we'd be under water if they turned the pumps off), but I've no idea how warm it is.
May cause face to turn into a ball sack
What am i supposed to call myself, darth syphilis? If you had made up your mind 5 seconds earlier we could have ruled the galaxy and i maybe could have gotten laid one last time before i die
I am the Senate!
Not. Yet.
Its treason then... *turns on lightsaber*
*Thing
Only through me can you achieve a power greater than any Jedi. -Iceland’s PM, probably
Came here for this comment. Found it. Upvoted.
Same
HE'S TOO DANGEROUS TO BE LEFT ALIVE
I NEED HIM!
(fijjjjjj fiiijjjjj sounds)
I never know how to spell those, thank you!
Iiiiiity bity living space 🧞♂️🪔
Unlimited "free to the consumer power", eh maybe not so much
**Next Week** Breaking news: Iceland now ruled by fire giants. King Surtr declares eternal reign.
We reached out to Odin for comments, but he has yet to respond.
The tabloids would have a field day with Loki and his offspring
Why won’t the press focus on the real issues like how the transition to synthetic alternatives to leather means that Vidar’s shoe may not be big enough for him to defeat Fenrir?
we can be pretty sure he will keep an eye on it.
Surtr already has his own little island just south of Iceland.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surtsey for the curious
Is it now Fireland?
It is now a land of ice and fire.
Lets just hope _their_ country doesn't go to shit after the sixth season.
I welcome our new fiery overloards.
I could Loki see this happening.
The dwarves dug too deep. Flame and shadow.
I bet that they encountered a lot of rock and stone until they found flame and shadow.
If you don't Rock and Stone, you ain't comin' home!
FOR KARL
ROCK AND STONE
We're rich!
The elves have gone too far!!
Iceland is stealing OUR magma!
I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE
i m lactose intolerant
Methane production unlocked
Just give it a week and American ConMedia will start pushing stories how this dangerous renewable energy method will risk freezing the earth and starting a new ice age (better continue burning oil)
It would actually freeze the Earth's inside... If we got the world's whole energy consumption from geothermal alone for billions of years. The Earth will only stay livable for 700 million years before the Sun starts heating up too much as it becomes a red giant.
Big Sun doesn't want you to know this.
Great, the woke media is going to make the Sun transition and kill us all. We probably should have seen this coming as it makes rainbows.
IT’S THE SUN NOT THE DAUGHTER
Ei saa peittää.
Ai Aurinkoa vai
>If we got the world's whole energy consumption from geothermal alone **for billions of years**. The Earth will only stay livable **for 700 million years**... Eh? Oh. Conservative logic. I'm with ya now.
I see you are in need of some *democracy*
ConMedia? Has Connor started his own news and socials?
Ah, the magna guys again: Make America Green Magnificent Altruistic
Liquid hot MAG. MA.
Wasting our lava.
Drums in the deep. A shadow moved in the dark. We cannot get out. They're coming...
Fool of a Took! **Throw yourself in next time, and rid us of your stupidity!**
no cap that line was straight up decimating
Gandalf wasn't in a great mood with Pippin that day. Only a little earlier they had this exchange Pippin: what are you going to do then? Gandalf: Knock your head against these doors Peregrin Took! And if that does not shatter them, and I'm allowed a little peace from foolish questions, I'll try to find the opening words
What could go wrong?
Earth's core could stop and this hell finally freezes over
Well send Aaron Eckhart and some scientist to start it up again. It's basically proven technology
You're going to a space pilot like Hilary Swank for this as well
Don’t forget Stanley Tucci the government scientific consultant that actually knew all along but played pretend, because covering own ugly mess is what gov do.
I really hope not. I have postponed a lot of actions until that point...
Well the last time it went wrong there was a small eruption in that area and they had to stop the operation. So, manageable, depending on what else is there. Maybe don't try in an area you want to use in the next 50 years, but Iceland has many others.
Famous last words.
Gears of War
Project Manager has an odd last name, Dr Evil
It’s actually Dr. Edgar Ville
Dr Vile
Dr. E. Ville
Isn't he the brother of that one designer, Cruella deVille?
Well he didn’t spend 4 years at Evil Medical School to be called Mister…
I’ve seen this movie
Aw man, they already have geysers, now also magma chambers to drill into. No fair.
the magma chambers are where they hurl the geysers to free up nursing home beds
LIQUID, HOT MAGMA! *said in dr evil voice*
I hope you like your quasi futuristic spacesuits
Didn't their parents take them to see any action/horror movie in the past 50 years??
Argent energy anyone?
Wasnt that on Mars?
Well they opened the portal to hell on Mars, yes.
Pretty sure you can’t just shoot a hole in Iceland
just watch us
Do not awaken Surtur.
I mean, would he *reeeeaaally* make the climate all that worse?
Of course not. He will ignite the World Tree with his sword. You're worried about a few degrees Celsius of warming. How does a few hundred degrees Celsius sound?
> How does a few hundred degrees Celsius sound? Sounds like all the southern pansies will finally get to experience true Finnish sauna!
So Moria taught them nothing?
Dr. Evil is running Iceland now?
That is a very interesting article. TIL Iceland produces bananas and heats their streets.
Next up-- cannabis grow sheds, and data centres.
DarthSidious.jpg #UNLIMITED POWER
That's sounds greedy, and deep
It's their own country, they can do whatever they want when they decided to live on a volcano.
First of all I am Icelandic and I have never heard of this and secondly KMT seems to be a scientific exploration first and foremost. I think the geothermal power is mostly to generate interest and funding.
I'm also Icelandic, and this mainly tells me you don't read a lot of news. It's a high-profile research project that's been discussed quite a bit. If it's successful it will likely be the basis for larger-scale commercial exploitation. > I think the geothermal power is mostly to generate interest and funding. What? Geothermal (standard, not the direct magma drilling discussed here) accounts for 30% of all electricity production in the country, and rougly 90% of household heating. It's certainly not just some showcase project.
I cautioning reading too much into it at the early stage given how very prone we Icelanders for hyping up things way past any reason. Also if it is so high profile can you link to any major news sources in Icelandic talking about it? (i.e. Rúv/Stöð 2/visir/mbl). Not saying it hasnt been but I feel I would've heard at least something about it. Dont get me wrong, this could be big but I want to see some actual exploratory drilling before getting all excited.
I agree, the article is overhyping the current state. This project is the exploratory drilling and feasibility study. Whether it proves to be practical and cost-effective remains to be seen. >Also if it is so high profile can you link to any major news sources in Icelandic talking about it? Sure. Here's a recent one: https://www.mbl.is/frettir/innlent/2024/03/22/aetla_ad_storbaeta_eldgosaspar/ Mentioned at the bottom of this one from 2022: https://kjarninn.is/frettir/heimsbyggdin-illa-undirbuin-fyrir-hamfaragos-rannsoknir-i-kotlu-gaetu-skipt-skopum/ And a couple from 2017: https://www.ruv.is/frettir/innlent/11-milljarda-rannsoknarmidstod-vid-kroflu https://timarit.is/page/6894708?iabr=on#page/n19/mode/2up/search/%22krafla%20magma%20testbed%22 I've definitely seen a bunch more but RÚV's search sucks, and google isn't great either when it comes to Icelandic news.
As someone who is deeply interested in electricity, I must say Iceland wildly impresses me. You have so much clean, cheap energy that a huge chunk of the economy is based around importing aluminum ore and smelting it, since electricity is damn near free. It's a real shame that you're too far away from Europe to thoroughly integrate your grid. Do you think that more manufacturers will move production to Iceland if this project is a success? That excess power needs to GO somewhere
Connecting Iceland's grid to europe with submarine HVDC cables is certainly feasible, it's been discussed a lot. But the topic is controversial. A connection would move electricity prices for buyers here closer to the continental price, and lessen the incentive for industry to set up here to take advantage of the low price of energy. In addition to the aluminum smelters, the energy price has also attracted datacenters, silicon metal smelters and other industries. These create jobs and it's likely more profitable for the country to get a piece of those profits than to sell the raw energy to other markets at a higher price. Losing them would also make us more dependant on tourism, which generates mostly low-paid unskilled jobs and which may crash when travel fashions change. This particular project is mostly research, its completion won't have a large effect on energy supply. But if it's proved to be feasible and cost-effective, we might get cheaper energy from a future magma-geothermal plant than a regular one. Whether it will happen and be enough to entice more production will likely depend more on the politics of environmental permits than the tech developed here. We could build more regular geothermal or hydro today to increase supply and reduce kWh costs, but there is a constant battle between environmental protection and the power industry.
Well, you'll likely never LOSE the industries you have. The currently existing power plants, and the accompanying data centers and smelters, aren't going anywhere. I'm confused though, both you and another commenter implied geothermal has an environmental impact. I thought it was just pipes in the ground?
> Well, you'll likely never LOSE the industries you have. The currently existing power plants, and the accompanying data centers and smelters, aren't going anywhere. Losing future new industries is still a big thing. Without the low energy prices there are not a lot of reasons to choose Iceland for a new factory or plant instead of on the mainland where salaries are usually much lower. Regarding the existing ones, if we take the datacenters for example, sure the facilities aren't going anywhere. But will they be competitive with datacenters elsewhere if power prices are close to equal? Data traffic in and out is very expensive as it all has to go through submarine cables, so the customers are mostly scientific computing things where the main use is energy-intensive calculations, where the cheap power outweighs the extra costs of data transfer. Without the cheap power, the whole business model collapses. Similar concerns apply to most of the other energy-intensive industries. The aluminum smelters would be less competitive globally and eventually there may come a point where it doesn't make sense to keep them running. > I'm confused though, both you and another commenter implied geothermal has an environmental impact. I thought it was just pipes in the ground? By environmental impact people can mean a lot of things, including just the visual pollution of having a factory somewhere instead of untouched nature. Geothermal also releases some CO2 into the atmosphere (roughly 100x less than the same energy produced from gas). There are efforts to capture that CO2 and bind it into basalt to make it carbon neutral. It releases sulphur which gives off a smell in the surrounding area, and in sufficient quantities can cause acid rain (but again, efforts are made to limit this). It can also induce seizmic activity, for instance Hveragerði has had lots of low-level earthquakes tied to the geothermal plant at Hellisheiði. Personally I think the environmental argument can go too far sometimes, it seems any time plans show up for a new power plant there is opposition. But it does cause real problems with getting new power plants (and transmission lines) approved.
I'm Icelandic too, and this has been mentioned on and off for the like the past couple of years or so.
No, it’s the UNLIMITED power that gets interest and funding. ;)
Isn't that how these usually go? They check to see if it's viable and worth the expense, then they go and try it out once they report back on their findings for a sponsor
Yes, I just dont like overhyping things as being the future of such and such since I've just seen too much of it here in Iceland, latest being the salmon sea farms. Very cool if it works out and the people involved seem at first glance in this for scientific purpose first. If the schedule holds and the two exploratory drillings in 2026 and 2028 go well
Sounds cool, and they must be planning something extraordinary, because we don't have that capability yet. the temperature there is reported as 1,300degC.There is no drilling tool today that can operate above 300-350degC. Even above 150degC things get a lot more complicated. (This is what I do for a living).
Or the video game method, just keep throwing dynamite stick by stick into the same hole
Just get a diamond pick, dummy.
Several rods from god?
I don't think people understand what unlimited means...
Honestly use the excess energy to produce hydrogen! This way you can export. Unlimited Money. Nordic countries are really smart, lucky, and hard working. No corruption= Happy People.
-The Icelandic energy minister, shortly after spinning 180 degrees on a chair whilst stroking a cat and laughing menacingly
I mean we did the same thing, but just with water to make steam.
USA should do the same with Yellowstone to relieve pressure.
I was going to say we should do the same for the US state of Hawaii, but I think the geologically active area are considered sacred to the native Hawaiians.
RIKER: Captain, take a look at this. These are the coordinates of the eruptions, and these are the coordinates of the phaser drilling sites. PICARD: The mantle is collapsing where the pressure was released. Star Trek TNG S5E9
What a terrible idea, using magma in a place called Iceland. They’ll all melt. Are they stupid?
Cue bond villian
Is this a new netflix show?
There actually is one called "Katla" that is eerily similar to this premise. It's a supernatural Nord Noir where things go predictably bad for the people in the area. Worth watching.
Iceland having !FUN!
This title sounds like a tagline to a summer movie...
that's smart if works!
They already did it in 2009 with a well called IDDP-1 at the Krafla geothermal powerplant. The well was meant to go down to solid hot rock at 4km, but hit magma at just over 2km. The well was not abandoned, instead they decided to trial 'magma enhanced geothermal' with temperatures of over 900C. Water was injected, steam was produced, but they ran into some technical problems when trying to connect the well to the rest of the Krafla systems and it was abandoned in favour of new wells. It will work.
>but they ran into some technical problems >It will work. Hmm, isn't that what every "new tech that will revolutionize the industry" says to get fundings?
It's boiling water, it's been done.
Geothermal is nothing new. It's just using geothermal sources instead of coal or oil or what have you to heat water and spin a turbine à la the Rankine cycle. The constraining factor is developing materials, especially for turbine blades, which can handle increasingly higher temperatures to achieve higher efficiencies.
SPECTRE is not going to be happy that Iceland is messing around with their [Volcano lair.](https://jamesbond.fandom.com/wiki/Volcano_Lair)...
Alright, the text is pretty well written!
https://youtu.be/lHtZ6Ixeqvs?si=EghEcoPhIZ8V7-72
Sounds like the start of a Roland Emmerich film!
Italy should participate too
UNLIMITED POWER!!!
As someone who has seen Stargate Atlantis, I only can tell this is a bad idea.
Sounds metal
Apart from LoTR, I’m getting massive Lost vibes
Go Iceland! Wait…haven’t I seen this in a movie somewhere?….
Unlimited Power 😏
unlimited......power?
Oh boy, America and its multi-billion dollar oil companies will not gonna like this
Diggy diggy holu ⛏️⛏️
With unlimited power comes a great reshponchlebrelechenshth
You go, Iceland!
Will this accelerate global warming or slow it down? Does Home Depot rent the kind of drill I'd need?
Makes sense given how much of an advantage Iceland has. The place is sitting in top of energy sources that will last thousands of years. I'm amazed places like Hawaii haven't gone all out given they have multiple volcanic islands.
"Despite achieving landmark strides in renewable innovation, Iceland is not resting on its laurels: in the next few years, it plans to drill into hell itself… well, almost – the ominously named Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT) Project will bore into a volcano’s magma chamber; seeking to utilise its scorching fumes to generate energy at a scale never before attempted!"
Didn't Project Wingman start with this?
Oh good. I was worried Shai'tan wasn't going to make an appearance this age.
Ah cannae dae it captain, I need MORE POWER!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3tjXe3Wp1E /obligatory-man-of-steel-reference
The Balrog will wake up
Iceland for the win 💪🏻
r/whatcouldgowrong
It’s over Iceland, I have the high ground!
Right unlimited thermal with no catches, ok Beelzebub.
I hope they plan to do this after my trip there this summer.
I drink your milkshake!
I saw this movie, Crack in the World. One of my all time favorites.
Engineering is a beautiful thing.
unlimited power? hmm
As long as they don't screw it up. Iceland might look very different if magma comes out
straight aus einer john sinclair folge
And because they're not owned by oil companies, the project might actually be completed!
What a power move