SEVENTY PERCENT THEN AND NOW

When we became an independent nation 80 years ago, in 1944, coal accounted for 70% of the total energy used in the country according to Statistics Iceland. Today, coal is right at zero or 0.01%. Today, geothermal energy accounts for 70% of the nation’s energy consumption. In 1944, geothermal energy accounted for about 15% of our energy consumption. In these 90 years, the share of hydropower has increased from 3% to a fifth, and oil has gone from 15% down to almost ten percent. Despite the increased number of boats and motor vehicles. In the 1960s, oil consumption was about 65% of energy consumption in the country, when it reached its highest level. Today, with geothermal and hydropower, about 90% of the energy we use is domestic green energy. Harnessed from the ground, or by hydroelectric power plants.