{"id":43895,"date":"2021-04-01T14:41:16","date_gmt":"2021-04-01T13:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unric.org\/en\/?p=43895"},"modified":"2021-04-14T15:52:05","modified_gmt":"2021-04-14T14:52:05","slug":"energy-transition-on-the-arctic-circle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unric.org\/en\/energy-transition-on-the-arctic-circle\/","title":{"rendered":"Energy transition on the Arctic Circle"},"content":{"rendered":"
The small island of Gr\u00edmsey sits exactly on the Arctic Circle, and is the only part of Iceland to be geographically in the Arctic.<\/p>\n
It may be remote \u2013 even by Icelandic standards \u2013 and it may be sparsely populated, but with its pristine nature and wildlife the islanders are keen to contribute to the preservation of nature.<\/p>\n
Recently the municipality of Akureyri, which since 2009 includes Gr\u00edmsey, took a landmark decision in consultation with the 75-strong population. In the next few years the island aims to turn its back on fossil-fuels and increasingly embrace renewable energy.<\/p>\n
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\u201cGr\u00edmsey is very special since the Artic Circle crosses the island, which is our northernmost settlement,\u201d says \u00c1sthildur Sturlud\u00f3ttir, the Mayor of Akureyri.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is both very costly and polluting to use fossil-fuel based energy and it doesn\u00b4t rhyme at all with the untouched nature, copious bird-life and flourishing society in Gr\u00edmsey.\u201d<\/p>\n
The lion\u00b4s share of electricity in Iceland comes from renewable energy sources, accounting for roughly 99% of the total consumption. In addition, around 90% of Icelandic households are heated with geothermal water.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have, with considerable costs, tried to drill for warm water,\u201d explains J\u00f3hannes Henningsson the chairman of the local citizens\u00b4 council. \u201cSince it wasn\u00b4t successful, we had to try other options.<\/p>\n
Each household has independently had to rely on diesel-driven generators to provide heating and electricity. The annual consumption is around 400,000 litres and emissions that amount to 1,000 tons of greenhouse gasses.<\/p>\n
Initially, two windmills have been bought and will be installed to generate in total 30,000 kw hours annually. In addition, solar panels will be installed with the capacity of producing 10,000 kw hours yearly, with each household given solar panels free of charge for personal use. This will cut the use of diesel by 20,000 litres.<\/p>\n
The biggest challenge for wind-energy in Gr\u00edmsey is actually too much wind.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes we have a lot of wind,\u201d says Henningsson. \u201cWe tried windmills in the early 80s, but it was problematic because if it was too windy, they couldn\u00b4t handle it. However, since then there has been a lot of technical progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Global Champion<\/strong><\/p>\n Iceland has set 2050 as a target to end the use of fossil-fuel energy. \u201cIt is an ambitious target, which hopefully will be reached. If our plans of energy transition in Gr\u00edmsey are successful the island will have become green and ecologically friendly well before the 2050 target-date,\u201d says Mayor Sturlud\u00f3ttir.<\/p>\n