Revenge of the Electric Car » Iceland

Postcard from Iceland (2 of 2)

Chris Paine — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:06:31 +0000

[caption id="attachment_302" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Shooting in a rain storm at the Blue Lagoon"][/caption] It's really hard to beat a week in Iceland. With the conference over, we went on a tour tracking down electric cars and the clean electricity to power them. [caption id="attachment_304" align="alignright" width="200" caption="With our Icelandic Camera Operator Bjorn Helgason"][/caption] Highlights the second half included an unlikely interview in the spectacular black lava "Blue Lagoon" hot springs. This is the place where tourists sometimes ask "...why did they build such a hot springs resort so close to a powerplant?!" The answer is the nearby geothermal powerplant is the very reason the spa exists. Why?? The Reykianes Peninsula geothermal plant uses the hot water it pumps up in three ways - first to to make nearly carbon free electricity, second to heat water in homes, and third to fill the Blue Lagoon resort lava fields with clean tourist-loving mineral water. We can say from personal experience, however, that this is not an easy place to film in such a place especially in rain and high winds. We were lucky to get the interviews we were able to -especially with the President- as Iceland was under incredible financial stress. While we were there, the currency had lost half of its value, real estate transactions had stopped, and bankruptcy loomed thanks to rampant overseas speculation. Since we left, the country has taken over its 3 major banks and owes more then billion dollars. Sound familiar? Flying back to the US, the Icelandic airport security was so friendly I felt like I was in an idealic scene from "Catch Me if you Can." Ahh, to live in a country with a great President, relaxed but secure airports and green electricity. Big picture, one can't help thinking how much money Iceland could have saved by not importing gasoline all these years when it had ample supplies of free electricity for its vehicles. That could definitely be in its future.

Postcard From Iceland (1 of 2)

Chris Paine — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:06:31 +0000

Postcard From Iceland (1 of 2)

Chris Paine — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:06:31 +0000

[caption id="attachment_302" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="Shooting in a rain storm at the Blue Lagoon"][/caption] It's really hard to beat a week in Iceland. With the conference over, we went on a tour tracking down electric cars and the clean electricity to power them. [caption id="attachment_304" align="alignright" width="200" caption="With our Icelandic Camera Operator Bjorn Helgason"][/caption] Highlights the second half included an unlikely interview in the spectacular black lava "Blue Lagoon" hot springs. This is the place where tourists sometimes ask "...why did they build such a hot springs resort so close to a powerplant?!" The answer is the nearby geothermal powerplant is the very reason the spa exists. Why?? The Reykianes Peninsula geothermal plant uses the hot water it pumps up in three ways - first to to make nearly carbon free electricity, second to heat water in homes, and third to fill the Blue Lagoon resort lava fields with clean tourist-loving mineral water. We can say from personal experience, however, that this is not an easy place to film in such a place especially in rain and high winds. We were lucky to get the interviews we were able to -especially with the President- as Iceland was under incredible financial stress. While we were there, the currency had lost half of its value, real estate transactions had stopped, and bankruptcy loomed thanks to rampant overseas speculation. Since we left, the country has taken over its 3 major banks and owes more then $60 billion dollars. Sound familiar? Flying back to the US, the Icelandic airport security was so friendly I felt like I was in an idealic scene from "Catch Me if you Can." Ahh, to live in a country with a great President, relaxed but secure airports and green electricity. Big picture, one can't help thinking how much money Iceland could have saved by not importing gasoline all these years when it had ample supplies of free electricity for its vehicles. That could definitely be in its future.

Revenge of the Electric Car » Iceland

Chris Paine — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 07:06:31 +0000

Postcard From Iceland (1 of 2)

Chris Paine — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:31:42 +0000

[caption id="attachment_105" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="Bathers in the foreground, geo-thermal power plant in the distance"][/caption] The rumors are true. Iceland is beautiful. Sitting on the continental plates between Europe and North America, this volcanic island is home to a mere 300,000 people. I came as a guest for Driving Sustainability, Iceland's conference for the future of cars. They lined up an international and terrific schedule. Yet-Ming Chiang from A123 Systems in Cambridge, Bill Dube, from the Killacycle, Sven Thesen and John Proctor from Better Place, the MiEV team from Mitsubishi, and on and on. After the two day conference, we stayed on to film for "Revenge," because Iceland's electricity is 100% renewable — the perfect place for EVs. Thanks to its wise investment in geothermal plants, Iceland's energy is clean and practically free. The only oil that gets used here goes towards fueling our worldwide addiction (which Iceland shares) to the internal combustion engine. Thankfully this may all be changing — at least according to its President who met us at Iceland's White House (the Bessastadir). President Olafur Grimsson has a vision for his country that does not include oil. Facing bankruptcy, the country cannot afford to import oil when electric vehicles could meet the needs of most of its city drivers. After a failed experiment with hydrogen, the real issue is getting carmakers to sell electric cars and educating the public about their advantages. We toured the country with a local crew and got some fabulous footage. From the annual meeting of a 4x4 truck club in Iceland's glacial interior, to the steaming vents of its power plants, we tracked the story. Can Iceland use its clean energy to replace gasoline driving? [caption id="attachment_111" align="aligncenter" width="266" caption="Chris Paine and President Grimsson"][/caption]