Tag Archives: energy transition

CHARGE 2018

The source of the Icelandic Energy Transition from carbon to 100% renewable

The Germans might have branded and brought the term Energiewende into the global vocabulary. But when Iceland started, nobody was thinking about it.  The energy transition from carbon based fuels to renewables began over 100 years ago. It started off slowly with hydro powering just the lights but fully took off when Ljósafoss power plant began producing power for the city of Reykjavik in 1937. The plant made it possible for homes to stop relying on burning coal for cooking and at the same time, geothermal began to replace heating in the capital.

Networking excursion to Ljósafoss hydro plant

Landsvirkjun, the National Power Company of Iceland, invites participants of CHARGE to a Magnet Networking Excursion to the Ljósafoss Power Plant. The excursion will serve as a grand finale of CHARGE 2018 on the 25th of September. After the conference programme concludes, participants will go straight to buses that will take them on an energy excursion like no other. Participants will travel outside of Reykjavik through the iconic Icelandic landscape to the powerplant. At the powerplant, Landsvirkjun will host a reception for participants at the plant’s interactive energy exhibition space.

Ljósafoss Hydro Power Plant Facts

Ljósafoss plant was first of three stations that utilise power from the river Sog. The plant was designed by architect Sigurður Guðmundsson in Funkis style which is a unique Nordic flavor of Functionalism and features decorations by sculptor Ásmundur Sveinsson. The Ljósafoss plant hosts an interactive exhibition. The exhibition emphasises on play and experience where the nature and characteristics of electricity are shown in multiple forms and guests are led through the world of electricity in new and creative ways

Learn more about Iceland’s Energy Transition

At CHARGE last year, Hörður Arnarson – CEO of Landsvirkjun, went over the company’s history and its role in Iceland’s 100% renewable electricity and how the company has been repositioning itself over the years.

Articles, CHARGE2016

Can the incumbent utility brand itself green?

Jim Rogers, the retired former CEO of Duke Energy was the first CEO of a major utility to address environmental issues and once named by Newsweek as one of the “50 Most Powerful People in the World”.

In his presentation at the Green Energy track at CHARGE 2016, Jim talked about the customer relationship during the transformation of the Power Industry in the United States.

Duke Energy has the reputation of being affordable, reliable and safe. No one would say that they were green, they were the highest contributors of Co2 in the United States.

You can’t brand yourself unless you walk the talk.

Duke Energy has cut down Co2 emissions by almost 30 per cent but Jim admits that although the number seems high and the amount of emissions cut is quite large, the company is still a major contributor of Co2 emissions in the United States. For the effort, the company has been on the Dow Jones sustainability index for eleven years.

Branding: it’s not what you say about yourself, but what others say about you.

In addition to cutting down emissions, the company has made some considerable investments in wind and solar as well as investing in solutions that provide customers with rooftop solar.

The key point in adapting to and investing in green technology is to be able to communicate with and educate different stakeholders. The customer expects affordability and the investor want to see that the company will see a return on their green energy investment.

As Jim put it, the company invested in where the wind blows and the sun shines as well as looking at opportunities where the regulatory environment is favourable towards green investment.