Iceland introduces geothermal energy to China

Iceland, a country that highly manipulates geothermal energy, will deliver its knowledge to China.

Iceland lies astride the Mid-Atlantic ridge, the boundary between North and Eurasian tectonic plates. These plates are moving apart at about 2 centimeters per year making the country one of the most tectonically active places on earth and resulting in numerous volcanoes and hot springs. Therefore, Iceland provides a perfect environment for geothermal energy production. Today, 5 major geothermal power plants produce about 26.2% of the nation's electricity.

Asian Development Bank has provided a $250 million loan to China's Sinopec (SNPMF) and Iceland's Arctic Green Energy Corporation in order to establish and develop geothermal resources in the cities near Beijing. According to experts, China also has a great geothermal energy potential due to its geomorphology.

The purpose of China is to reduce the country's reliance on coal by boosting clean energy production. According to the International Energy Agency, 58% of China's energy comes from coal, compared with 12% from renewables. Hebei, the province that includes Beijing, is one of the most polluted areas in the country. Air pollution is related to 1/3 of all recorded deaths in China, a research published by Nanjing University's School of the Environment in 2016 showed.

To address this problem, Chinese officials developed a 5-year plan to accelerate geothermal and renewable energy production. The aim is to replace about 70 million tons of coal by 2020 with geothermal energy. At that time, Beijing will have invested $367 billion in renewable power generation.