Consulting Committee deliver it's recommendations regarding á subsea interconnector for electricity between Iceland and Europe to the Minister of Industry and Trade
The minister of industry established a consulting committee which task was to assess the possibility of laying a subsea interconnector for electricity between Iceland and Europe. Such a project has been considered technologically feasible for some time and recently there have been indicators showing economic feasibility. The committee was constituted of a wide selection of members from all political parties in Althingi, along with members from industry, consumers, environmental bodies and the energy companies Landsvirkjun and Landsnet.
The committee's mandate was to analyse the economical, technological and environmental aspects along with the legal environment and relevant treaties. Another task for the group was to enable a professional and informed discussion regarding a possible interconnector, in that light, the committee held a well attended symposium in the conference center Harpa at the end of February. Follow the link for the slides and recordings from the symposium:
The committee has now delivered it's recommendations regarding the next steps to the Minister of Industry and Trade. Along with the recommendations are the results of the consultants that studied economic benefits, environmental and legal aspects for the committee. The committee was unanimous in it's resolution that additional detailed information is needed before the result of positive economic benefits of a connector between Iceland and Britain can be declared. The committee recommends that the project of assessing all aspects of the project be continued in Iceland and at the same time answers regarding the business and ownership model be answered in discussions with the corresponding party in Britain. Recommendations in more detail are to be found in the accompanying final report along with the consultant reports in the following link:
Unofficial translation of chapter 1 and 3