After drilling 4.7km into volcano, Iceland prepares to uncork energy revolution  

If successful, the experimental project could produce up to 10 times more energy than an existing conventional gas or oil well, by generating electricity from the heat stored inside the earth: in this case, a volcano. 
Begun in August last year, the drilling was completed on January 25, reaching a record-breaking depth of 4,659 metres (nearly 3 miles). 
Engineers hope they now have access to hot liquids under extreme pressure and at temperatures of 427 degrees C, creating steam that turns a turbine to generate clean electricity. 
Iceland’s decision to harness geothermal energy dates back to the 1970s and the oil crisis.
But the new geothermal well is expected to generate far more energy, as the extreme heat and pressure at that depth turns the water into “supercritical” fluid – neither gas nor liquid. 
“We expect to get five to 10 times more power than from a conventional well,” said Albert Albertsson, an engineer with Icelandic energy company HS Orka, involved in the drilling project. 
To supply electricity and hot water to a city like Reykjavik with 212,000 inhabitants, “we would need 30-35 conventional high temperature wells” but only three to five supercritical wells, says Albertsson. The cost would be much less. 
Scientists and the team working with “Thor” have two years to determine the success and economic feasibility of their Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP). 
The IDDP overlooks craters formed by the last volcanic eruption 700 years ago that left the are under a sea of lava. 
Rich in steaming geysers, hot springs and breathtaking volcanoes, Iceland is currently the only country in the world with 100 per cent renewable electricity. Geothermal accounts for 25 per cent, while the rest comes from hydroelectric dams.
But is Iceland a model for clean energy?
The answer is complex, according to Martin Norman, a Norwegian sustainable finance specialist at Greenpeace. 
Although geothermal is still preferable to gas, coal and oil, it’s not “completely renewable and without problems”, he notes. 
“As soon as you start drilling you have issues, such as sulphur pollution and CO2 emission, and they need to find solutions to deal with it.” 
Iceland prides itself on being at the forefront of renewable energy, yet “it is far from meeting the international objectives in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions”, Norman says.
The Institute of Economic Studies at the University of Iceland reports that the country will not meet pledges it made by signing the 2015 COP21 climate change agreement in Paris.
Greenhouse gas emissions are rising in all sectors of the economy, except in fisheries and agriculture, says institute research.
And they are predicted to rise by between 53 and 99 per cent by 2030 from 1999 levels – a far cry from Iceland’s COP21 summit pledge to slash carbon pollution by 40 per cent compared to the same benchmark.
Iceland’s heavy and energy-intensive industries and booming tourism are some of the causes. 
The land of ice and fire, with a population of 338,000, expects to welcome more than two million foreign visitors this year. 
With the frequent landing of charter planes, coaches weaving through the interior of the island, quads and powerful 4x4s driving over the black lava landscape and hotels sprouting up in the capital, the growing volume of holidaymakers is taking a toll on Iceland’s environment. 
Norman, of Greenpeace, fears the capital will turn into “a Costa del Reykjavik” due to the lure of the profits to be made and result in Icelanders giving up the country’s unique nature. 
Meanwhile Icelandic Environment Minister Bjort Olafsdottir says she hopes her nation will find the political will to reach its COP21 goals.
“If we do nothing, if we don’t take strong actions, we won’t reach the Paris agreement goals. But that’s not the plan,” she says. 
The current government has doubled taxes on CO2 emissions and financial incentives for polluting industries have been removed, she argued. 
“It is the first step, probably it is not enough. We have to do it with the help of the industry.” 
Iceland’s long-term goal is to reduce the country’s dependence on hydrocarbons by having all cars run on electric power. Geothermal energy could be key in meeting that aim.