Reykjavik Iceland Builds World’s Longest Subsea Electric Cable

Reykjavik Iceland is considering building the world’s longest sub-sea electric cable to allow it to sell its geothermal and volcanic energy to Europe, the country’s largest energy company said.

“This project started last year and the current phase of research should be finished by the end of the year … We will have clearer information about the feasibility of the project,” Landsvirkjun spokeswoman Ragna Sara Jonsdottir told AFP, adding that a final decision on the project would likely come within four to five years.

After taking a hit when its Eyjafjoell volcano last year paralyzed European skies for weeks with a massive cloud of volcanic ash, Iceland is seeking to instead draw benefits from its geology with the cable, which would allow it to sell energy extracted from geothermal sources like volcanoes and geysers.

Depending on the destination country, the cable would be between 1,200 and 1,900 kilometres long, making it “the longest subsea cable in the world.”

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Source:The Windsor Star ,March 09, 2011; Image: hibbardinshore