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PhotoMediaSpotlight Iceland'sGeothermalEnergy HowdoesIcelandusegeothermalenergy? Forthecompletephotoswithmediaresources,visit: http://education.nationalgeographic.org/media/iceland-geothermal-plant/ Questions LookatthephysicallandformsaroundtheNesjavellirgeothermalpowerplant.Howdothese landformscontributetotheplacementofthegeothermalplant? Geothermalresourcesarecommonlyfoundnearplateboundariesandvolcanoes,orin mountainousterrain. Inthephotos,itappearsthatsmokeisbeingforcedoutoftheventsinthepowerplant.What materialisinthissmoke? Theexhaustissteam.Steamisbeingreleasedintotheatmospherefromthelargeventsonthetop oftheplant.Steam,whichiscomposedofwaterparticles,haslittleimpactonthesurroundingareas. Icelandhassixgeothermalpowerplants.Whydoyouthinkthissmallislandhassomanyofthis typeofpowerplant? Geothermalactivityisfoundneartheboundariesoftectonicplates,wherecracksintheEarth’scrust bringheatfromtheEarth’sinteriortothesurface.IcelandsitsontopofanactivepartoftheEarth’s crust. Whatdoyouthinkarethebenefitsofgeothermalpower? Geothermalpowerisarenewableresourcebecausethereisaconstantflowofheatthatcanbe extractedfromtheEarth.Geothermalpoweralsohasverylowemissionlevelsbecauseitdoesnot requireburningfueltogenerateenergy. FastFacts Nesjavellirgeothermalpowerplantislocated30kilometerseastofReykjavik,Iceland.The purposeoftheplantistocontributeenergytothenationalgridaswellasproducehotwaterfor theReykjavikdistrictheatingsystem. GeothermalenergyiscreatedbygatheringandextractingenergyfromtheEarth.Theword geothermalcomesfromtheGreekwordgeomeaningearthandthememeaningheat. Geothermalenergyisconsideredarenewableenergysourcebecauseheatiscontinuously 1of2 beingproducedinsidetheEarth. Amajorityofgeothermalresourcesareinregionswithactivevolcanoesorwhereplate boundariesmerge.Geysers,hotsprings,poolsofboilingmud,andfumarolesarethemost commonexamplesofgeothermalenergy.Theyarefoundinvariousplacesaroundtheworld. Vocabulary Term electricity geothermal energy landform powerplant steam Partof Speech Definition setofphysicalphenomenaassociatedwiththepresenceandflowof electriccharge. noun heatenergygeneratedwithintheEarth. noun specificnaturalfeatureontheEarth'ssurface. noun industrialfacilityforthegenerationofelectricenergy. noun watervapor. noun Images IcelandGeothermalPlantB IcelandGeothermalPlantC Worksheets&Handouts NesjavellirPowerPlantBrochure ©1996–2016NationalGeographicSociety.Allrights res erved. 2of2