In addition, another combined 15% of the computing power comes from Russia and the US, which are not exactly pioneers in green energy.
Using geothermal and hydroelectric power, state-owned Landsvirkjun and other energy companies generate nearly 100% of the island’s electricity.
It’s so cheap that for years there has been talk of laying an undersea cable to the UK to deliver green power to Europe, where it’s much more expensive.
Its founders include Philip Salter, who is now chief technical officer of affiliate Genesis Digital Assets and can sum up the island nation’s advantages in one line.
Meanwhile, however, the country’s generation capacity is reaching its limits: “There could be very little excess energy in 2021 and 2022,” Landsvirkjun CEO Hordur Arnarson told Bloomberg recently.
Mining pioneer Salter says he can understand why Icelanders don’t want to sacrifice their unique natural resources for more power capacity.
“Especially in the north of the country, where we also operate a mining farm, the conditions are comparable to those in Iceland,” he said.
Renewable energy is available in such large quantities in Scandinavia that some countries hardly know what to do with it.
However, the demand for electricity from heavy industry is also growing there, especially for the production of “green steel.” Here, iron is processed into steel using renewable electricity and green hydrogen instead of coal.
Two consortia have big plans in northern Sweden.