The World in 2030

232 The World in 2030
The hot volcanic vents of Iceland may be harnessed
to bring electrical power to mainland Europe and
Britain if a plan to pipe geothermal energy under the
North Sea comes to fruition.
The same intense heat that causes the mud to bubble
and geysers to steam on Iceland’s moonlike surface
will be used to create steam to drive turbines, generating
enough energy to power up to 1.5 million
homes in Europe. 443
Around the world both the USA and Australia have significant
opportunities to exploit geothermal energy and as these countries
are among the worst polluters with fossil fuel emissions,
they should be encouraged to ramp up exploitation of this
clean energy source. The Australian reported in March 2007:
The head of geothermal development company Geodynamics,
Adrian Williams, said yesterday that Australia’s
main geothermal resources were in the Cooper
Basin of South Australia. He said the first big onshore
well to capture hot rock energy would be drilled later
this year, leading to the first commercialisation of
technology – a 40-megawatt power station – by 2010.
Dr. Williams said Australia could have as much as
4500 MW of geothermal energy by 2030, or about
10 per cent of current demand. 444
Australian writer Tim Flannery estimates that Australia has
sufficient tappable geothermal energy to provide the nation’s
energy needs for a century. 445