Iceland Digs Into A Volcano For More Clean Energy

Using geothermal energy as a clean source of power is nothing new. However, it doesn’t diminish the relevance of such an achievement, especially when done as Iceland is planning on doing. The small, northern nation is basically drilling into a volcano in order to tap the considerable amount of energy stored in these natural furnaces. If successful, it would provide Iceland with 10 times more energy than fossil fuel.

The drill in question is a powerful machine called “Thor” and it previously set a record for 4,659 meters or nearly 3 miles into the earth’s crust, Futurism reports. While the project is basically an experiment to see if boring into a volcano to harvest its energy is even possible, it’s safe to say that there is a substantial commitment to making it work.

If successful, the payoff would include a source of abundant energy that could power much of Iceland’s infrastructure. Of course, there is ample risk to consider as well. Aside from the fact that a mistake could result in an unintended eruption, the engineers are dealing with highly-pressurized molten lava that could reach temperatures of 427 degrees Celsius (800 Fahrenheit).

It’s worth pointing out that Iceland already runs on 100 percent renewable energy at this point. A majority of it comes from hydroelectric resources combined with geothermal energy. Considering the fact that the latter still poses some environmental risks, however, this might be a good thing.

As the Independent reports, geothermal sources like volcanoes also spout carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. It’s basically nature’s biggest source of the greenhouse gas and releasing it via widespread drilling can still lead to some serious consequences.

On that note, volcanoes are certainly preferable over fossil fuel simply because it is a lot less accessible to the majority of the population. This makes using geothermal energy easier to regulate and control the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere.