MHI Wins Order from Iceland

The five geothermal plants newly ordered will be built in a geothermal field approximately 30 kilometers east of Reykjavik. As the government of Iceland is planning to invite aluminum refineries to this area, industrial-use electricity is expected to be in short supply in the future. The new power plants are intended to provide electricity to newly building refineries.

The steam turbines for the plants on order will be manufactured by MHI's Nagasaki Shipyard and Machinery Works, generators will be made by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, and Balcke-Dürr will fabricate cooling equipment. Mitsubishi Corporation is handling the trade particulars.

Iceland is located along the fissure where the Earth's crust separates into the Eurasian and North American plates, and as a country of numerous volcanoes, Iceland is well suited to use of geothermal energy. Iceland generates nearly all its electricity from renewable energy and uses virtually no fossil fuels such as coal and oil. Because water is available in abundant supply, the country generates 80% of its electricity by hydropower, and most of the remainder is produced by geothermal power.

Outside Japan, to date MHI has received orders and delivered geothermal power plants to many countries worldwide. Their collective power output, including those on order, exceeds 2,700 MW. On the strength of these proven achievements and the company’s expertise in this area, MHI will now further fortify its global marketing activities for geothermal power plants as a clean energy resource that does not emit CO2, in addition to its promotion of plants that rely on other natural energy sources such as wind power, hydropower and solar energy.