The heat is on

Iceland President Ólafur Ragnar GrÍmsson isn't shy about heralding the substantial economic growth geothermal energy has brought his beloved nation over the course of his lifetime. And while Iceland possesses abundant geothermal resources, Grímsson says new drilling technologies can allow geothermal energy to be more effectively tapped globally. 

“My argument is this can be done anywhere, and it’s simply wrong to say this is a limited opportunity for any country,” says Grímsson, who has held office for the past 16 years.

China has “enormous” potential, he claims in the following video, but so too does the United States. He cites a 2006 Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) report by Professor Jefferson Tester, professor of sustainable energy and director of the Cornell Energy Institute, who keynoted the 2013 Iceland Geothermal Conference the same week in March Sustainable Industries interviewed Grímsson over tea and biscuits in his home. 

“The conclusion of that MIT report was that the geothermal potential of the U.S. was so big that it could provide twice the energy consumption of the United States,” he says