At a meeting in Alþingishúsið, the Icelandic parliament building, yesterday, Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson and British Prime Minister David Cameron agreed to form a task force to look into the possibility of connecting Iceland’s energy grid with Britain’s via a submarine cable, RÚV reports.
The UK-Iceland Energy Task Force will examine the feasibility of laying such a cable and report back within six months, according to itv.com. Such a project would take 7-10 years to complete.
Sigmundur Davíð says the project would only get his approval if Iceland got assurances it would not affect electricity prices to homes and businesses here.
Sigmundur’s assistant, Jóhannes Þór Skúlason, says a submarine cable has been discussed at every meeting between the two nations in recent years.
RÚV reports that three years ago, a cooperation agreement was signed between Iceland and the UK regarding energy issues. The agreement was signed by then Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change Charles Hendry, who now works for an energy company interested in the project.
In Britain, homeowners face a continuing threat of blackouts because of the lack of energy capacity and the closure of some power stations, news.sky.com reports.
