// Annual stocktake · 2024–2025
Iceland Energy
in Numbers
One of the world's most renewable energy systems, and one of its starkest contrasts.
100%
Renewable electricity
<15gCO₂/kWh
Grid carbon intensity
18,822GWh
Electricity generated · 2025
898kt
Fossil fuel imported · 2025
* 2025 data where published; 2024 figures where not yet available, labelled accordingly.
01
Iceland's energy, all of it
38.9 TWh total final energy · by source · 2024 (Umhverfis- og orkustofnun / Orkuspá 2025–50)
Total final energy by source · TWh · 2024
Renewable
74%
Of all the energy Iceland uses — electricity, heat, and fuels combined — about three-quarters already comes from domestic renewable sources.
Still fossil
26%
Imported oil still supplies about a quarter of final energy — almost entirely transport: road, fishing, marine, and aviation. The renewable grid stops at the fuel tank.
The contrast
100%
Renewable electricity, yet a quarter of total energy is still burned as fossil oil. That gap — clean power beside fossil fuel — is the opportunity for domestic renewable fuels.
Two energy systems in one country. Iceland's electricity and heat are essentially fully renewable, but its liquid fuels are not. Of 38.9 TWh of total final energy in 2024, about 10 TWh was still imported fossil oil — the part of the system that electrification alone cannot reach.
02
Renewable electricity generation
18,822 GWh generated · 100% renewable domestic sources · 2025
Generation mix · 2025
18.8k
GWh
Hydroelectric · 69.9%
13,157 GWh
Geothermal · 30.0%
5,651 GWh
Wind · <0.1%
10.4 GWh
Year-on-year change · 2024 → 2025
Hydroelectric
Geothermal
2025 generation fell 4.0% (18,822 vs 19,606 GWh). Norðurál had an internal issue; ON Power reduced output as a consequence. Wind is emerging: Landsvirkjun began construction of Búrfellslundur (120 MW) in 2025, Iceland's first utility-scale wind farm.
03
Geothermal direct heat
36.5 PJ used · 10.3 PJ dissipated · 2024
Heat by sector · PJ
Dual-purpose resource. Geothermal wells produce both electricity and direct heat. The 10.25 PJ dissipated represents heat extracted but not used, inherent to the technology, not waste from inefficiency. District heating reaches over 90% of Icelandic homes.
04
Where the power goes
18,801 GWh consumed · 2025
Metals production
13,721
GWh · 73.0% of end-use demand
General priority
3,363
GWh · 17.9%
Data centres
520
GWh
Curtail.
332
System losses
865
GWh · 4.6%
Aluminium smelting dominates demand. Three smelters (ISAL, Norðurál, Alcoa Fjarðaál) consume roughly 73% of all electricity generated. Data centres are a growing load (520 GWh in 2025) but remain small relative to metals.
05
Energy balance
How energy flows from source to end use · ktoe · 2024 (Eurostat March 2026 edition)
Transformation efficiency: ~47%. Geothermal power plants extract heat from deep underground. Much of the thermal energy cannot be converted to electricity and is released, inherent to the technology, not inefficiency. Hover over any flow to see values.
06
The fossil gap
897,739 tonnes of liquid fossil fuel imported · 2025 · domestic use only
By product · what Iceland imports
By end use · where it goes
End-use split applies 2024 UOS sector shares to 2025 customs totals. Excludes 214,609 t jet fuel bought abroad by Icelandic aircraft (HS 27101918) and fuel bought abroad by Icelandic ships (HS 27101948), which are international bunkers, not domestic consumption.
07
The transport paradox
Despite abundant clean energy, transport remains fossil-fuel-dependent
M1 passenger car fleet · 2024
New EV registrations declining
37.8%
2024
→
31.3%
2025
Pure-EV share of new M1 registrations
Per-capita jet fuel · litres/year
Iceland
1,033 L
Ireland
251 L
Denmark
197 L
Norway
122 L
EU (27)
110 L
About 9× EU average · Source: Eurostat nrg_bal_c (international aviation jet fuel) ÷ population (tps00001), 2024.
08
Greenhouse gas emissions
4,779 kt CO₂-eq · excluding LULUCF and international aviation · 2024 (UOS submission, March 2026)
Top emission sources · kt CO₂-eq
The emissions paradox. Despite 100% renewable electricity, Iceland's emissions excluding land use reached 4,779 kt CO₂-eq in 2024, up 2.9% on 2023 and 30% above the 1990 baseline. Industrial process emissions (aluminium and ferroalloys) are chemical, not energy-related.
Land use, revised. Under the March 2026 methodology, LULUCF is now a net source of +6,216 kt CO₂-eq (grassland +5,040, cropland +1,666, forest land −534). Including LULUCF, Iceland's 2024 total is 10,995 kt CO₂-eq.
For detailed, interactive emissions tracking by company and sector, see
Himinn og Haf, an open data initiative.
09
The opportunity
Where domestic renewable fuels fit in
Annual fossil imports
~898kt
Aviation, road, fishing, and maritime fuels imported for domestic use in 2025, the addressable market for displacement by domestic renewable fuels.
Renewable power
100%
All electricity is renewable. Additional generation will be required to power renewable-fuel production at scale alongside existing demand.
Transport & heavy use
~89%
M1 fleet still non-zero-emission; goods, marine, and aviation transport almost entirely fossil. The largest remaining decarbonisation challenge, and the natural application for efuels, green hydrogen, and biofuel blending.