**Title**: Energy in the North - Eli Gudleifsson
**Date**: July 2, 2025
**Participants**: Amanda Byrd, Eli Gudleifsson


00:00:00:00 - 00:00:01:07 [Eli Gudleifsson] But nowadays, things seems to be a little bit more difficult to make decisions on new hydro because it's not in tandem with foreign direct investment this time. Now we just need the power.

00:00:12:15 - 00:00:15:13 [Amanda Byrd] This week on energy in the North, I spoke with Eli Gudleifsson, an ACEP researcher and PhD student based in Reykjavik, Iceland. Eli works on innovation and energy knowledge sharing between Alaska and Iceland. Iceland generates almost 100% of its power by renewable energy sourced locally from hydro and geothermal resources. This has enabled the cost of energy to decrease to around $0.15 per kilowatt hour for residents, and even less for industry. Hydro is the largest power generating resource in Iceland. And I began the conversation by asking Elli what drove Iceland to tap into renewables.

00:00:46:05 - 00:00:54:22 [Eli Gudleifsson] The load growth policy of Iceland's government is started in 69 when the Marshall Aid sunsetted or when it was coming to an end.

00:00:54:23 - 00:00:58:19 [Amanda Byrd] This US Marshall Plan was to aid in the economic recovery of European nations after World War II.

00:01:01:06 - 00:01:17:17 [Eli Gudleifsson] Icelanders saw that, you know, they needed to do something to actually get foreign currency into the country, to get the economy going and the saw that Canada has been pretty successful with hydro and aluminum smelters. I know that when the first smelter was, built in Iceland, you know, the decision was between either a one more smelter in Canada or place it in Iceland. And I think Icelanders just lowered the energy price until they said, yes, let's build it in Iceland.

00:01:36:05 - 00:01:40:05 [Amanda Byrd] And it's changed, and it helped change the whole,

00:01:40:05 - 00:01:41:08 [Eli Gudleifsson] Yep. You know, at that time, there was then also a scarcity of energy or, almost a power shortage in Iceland because of migration to to the to the urban area and Reykjavik. So it actually was an easy decision in a way, there was a huge need for more power in the southwest part of Iceland, the urban area. So so there has been in Iceland foreign direct investment in the heavy industry and hydro development has been, you know, in tandem, holding hand to hand, you know, ever since. But nowadays, thing seems to be a little bit more difficult to make decisions on new hydro because it's not in tandem with foreign direct investment this time. Now we just need the power.

00:02:27:18 - 00:02:30:18 [Amanda Byrd] That's a really different model than because it's just a shortage of energy.

00:02:32:01 - 00:02:35:10 [Eli Gudleifsson] It's no doubt that, you know, the well-being of Icelanders, large scale, due to this load growth policy and selling of power to the heavy industry sector. Before that, we only had cod fisheries - nothing else - as our export revenues, it's not tourism, of course. And yeah, we could only fisheries, at that time, even, you know, the fish, the herring, example, was sold to Russia in exchange for Lada cars and, you know, industrial equipment. But thank God thats sunsetted now, but it has been, you know, this this main driver. But now there is this discussion and it's not easy to come up with, legit answer. You know, when the government and then Energy Authority says we need to generate more power, we need to. And those who are maybe a bit skeptical towards such decisions, they say we generate significant amount of power. Why don’t we just use it for something else you can say, you know, it’s okay to, you know, take that discussion and see how that would turn out. But I think at the same time, people may be attempting to forget where our wealth and wellbeing have come from.

00:03:45:20 - 00:03:50:07 [Amanda Byrd] Eli Gudleifsson is a researcher based in Iceland for the Alaska Center for Energy and Power. And I'm Amanda Byrd, chief storyteller for ACEP. Find this story and more at uaf.edu/acep