IWRA Proceedings

AbstractTraditional methods in geothermal exploration in Iceland have widely given good results and in 2023, about 90% of the Icelandic population have a geothermal district heating, both in rural and populated areas. During the last 30 years this number has changed very little and in most of the areas, which are still without district heating, traditional methods have not been successful. With new technology in geothermal exploration and more efficient and sustainable ways of energy use, it is vital to review the populated areas which do not benefit from geothermal district heating and seek new and innovative possibilities. After being rejected as a promising area for geothermal exploration, a survey is now ongoing at the Patreksfjörður village in NW-Iceland. It includes reviewing existing data, siting and drilling shallow exploration and gradient wells with the purpose of using the data to site and drill a production well in 2023. The expectation is to obtain ~ 20-30°C warm water for a centralized heat-pump for district-heating in the village.