A brief history of geothermal utilisation in Iceland

Geothermal areas and resources have been an important part of life in Iceland since the days of the settlement. The utilisation of geothermal resources has developed alongside Iceland’s history and culture. This utilisation is part of the past, present, and future of life on the island.

Geothermal sources were important in the days of the settlement, and many place names around the country reflect the geothermal landscape encountered by the early settlers. Reykjavík is a prime example, as reykur is the Icelandic word for smoke, and vík is bay. Other indicators of geothermally influenced place names include laug (hot spring) and hver (boiling river).

Geothermal water made its first big splash in the year 1000, when Icelanders agreed to accept Christianity as the official religion of the country. While the nation accepted Christianity at the UNESCO World Heritage Site, Þingvellir National Park, they refused to be baptized in the icy waters there. Instead, these new Christians were baptized in the geothermal waters of Reykjalaug (Vígðalaug) at Laugarvatn and in Reykjalaug in Lundarreykjadalur (Krosslaug). Yes to Christianity, but with a hot pot baptism – a national affinity and preference for the comfort of warm water that is still going strong today.

Throughout the centuries, the usage of geothermal resources has developed alongside Icelandic culture and history. In the earliest days, geothermal water was primarily used for washing and bathing. The Icelandic sagas reference geothermal pools, with saga characters spending time in and around them, often for romantic trysts. One of the most famous saga ‘hot pots’ is Sælingsdalslaug from Laxdælasaga, which Guðrún Ósvífursdóttir frequents throughout the saga. These early ‘hot pots’ were most likely in rivers and natural pools where geothermal water mixed with colder water. The most notable exception of this is Snorri Sturluson’s 13th century pool, Snorralaug, which consists of elaborate pipe systems and a man-made pool.

Icelanders adapted to use geothermal areas and resources in increasingly creative ways as time went by. These uses included using the hot water to bend wood and bones, boiling food and baking bread, using mud from geothermal areas to seal storage containers, using steam for dry-baths and saunas, and helping with crop growth via soil heating by diverting hot water into fields. From the 13th-18th centuries, Icelanders mined sulfur to export to Europe. In the 18th century, geothermal areas were used as barometers, and geothermal heat was used to extract salt from sea water. In the 20th century, usage became more widespread, as space heating and electricity emerged. This included greenhouses, dairies pasteurizing milk and cheese, and fish, hay, and seaweed drying.

It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that Icelanders began to use geothermal water and steam to heat their homes. In 1908 and 1911, two farmers created pipe systems to heat their farms and assist with cooking. In the 1930’s local authorities began doing so on a larger scale. The first instance of municipal district heating using geothermal water was by Hitaveita Reykjavíkur in 1930, and this was quickly expanded, with other municipalities following suit in the next decades. The first geothermal power plant in Iceland was built in 1969, and today roughly 30% of electricity and 90% of space heating comes from geothermal power plants and low-temperature fields.

Electricity and space heating are arguably the most important modern utilizations of geothermal resources, as this drastically changed life on the island. For centuries, Icelanders lived alongside the extreme weather conditions and natural elements. Freezing conditions, wind, and nearly 24 hours of darkness in the winter months are difficult enough for us today, but imagine living here in the winter without electricity or central heating. Thanks to the island’s geothermal areas, in the dead of winter we can easily enjoy a cozy and warm home, hot showers, a dip in a heated outdoor pool, and plenty of lights to keep the dark at bay. Many places even have snow-melting systems, where pipes run under streets and sidewalks to melt ice and snow – our ancestors would have trouble believing their eyes at the comparative comfort and luxury of living we have today.