Iceland Reducing Gas Stations By Half By 2025

[Sofia + 35]

The city council of Reykjavík, Iceland recently approved a plan to reduce the number of gas stations by half in Iceland’s capital by 2025, as one of the city’s environmental initiatives.There are currently 75 gas stations in the capital area of Reykjavík, and that number will be reduced to around 37 over the next six years. Another interesting approach after London’s new Ultra Low Emission Zone. 

https://www.icelandreview.com/news/reykjavik-to-reduce-number-of-gas-stations-by-half-by-2025/ 

[Vlad Kovalenko + 115]

Tesla opening in Iceland could be transformative for Iceland. Iceland could become next Norway in terms of very high BEV market penetration.

[Brian W + 78]

Most all island nations pay dearly to import fossil fuel.  With expensive petrol and nearly 100% renewable electricity generation they are the perfect example to prove EVs are the best option for keeping local money local. 

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

2 hours ago, Brian W said:

Most all island nations pay dearly to import fossil fuel.  With expensive petrol and nearly 100% renewable electricity generation they are the perfect example to prove EVs are the best option for keeping local money local. 

How much oil do they use though?  I don't imagine Iceland has a lot of long-haul trucks or 40 minute commutes. 

[Okie + 83]

5 minutes ago, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

How much oil do they use though?  I don't imagine Iceland has a lot of long-haul trucks or 40 minute commutes. 

Which makes islands the perfect place to adopt battery electric vehicles.

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

7 minutes ago, Okie said:

Which makes islands the perfect place to adopt battery electric vehicles.

Sometimes, yes - but that depends on how far the vehicles are driven.  If your commute is 3-5 miles, you'll be hard pressed to justify an EV until the purchase price declines. 

[ronwagn + 6,290]

I agree, they are just too expensive. 

[Outlaw Jackie + 78]

It will only inconvenience some, who will purchase their fuel out of town.  Probably little to no reduction in pollution.  A stupid idea...

[NickW + 2,714]

1 hour ago, Outlaw Jackie said:

It will only inconvenience some, who will purchase their fuel out of town.  Probably little to no reduction in pollution.  A stupid idea...

iceland is awash with renewable energy (Hydro, wind, geothermal) and has to import all its refined liquid fuel requirements. 

Gasoline is $2.00 a litre. 

EV's are a no brainer. 

 

[NickW + 2,714]

9 hours ago, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

Sometimes, yes - but that depends on how far the vehicles are driven.  If your commute is 3-5 miles, you'll be hard pressed to justify an EV until the purchase price declines. 

Probably then justifies buying EV's with relatively small batteries for this type of travel. 

[NickW + 2,714]

9 hours ago, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

How much oil do they use though?  I don't imagine Iceland has a lot of long-haul trucks or 40 minute commutes. 

Outside of Reyjavik most towns are coastal. I suspect a lot of goods are transported by coastal ships - roll on roll off ferries. 

[BenFranklin'sSpectacles + 762]

1 hour ago, NickW said:

Probably then justifies buying EV's with relatively small batteries for this type of travel. 

For that matter, most wouldn't necessarily need vehicles at all.  Ferries, ride sharing, rental vehicles, and public transit - all of which can be either electric or Natural Gas - could handle the vast majority of transportation needs.  Businesses who need to transport goods would be using their vehicles regularly, which is a good use case for EVs.  People with strictly short-range, low-speed requirements could use electric ATVs.  A standard, long-range EV probably doesn't make sense for many people, but there are a variety of non-oil options that do.  Iceland could easily wean itself off oil. 

For that matter, most of the world could wean itself off transportation oil.  It appears to be doing so, too.  With the exception of the longest haul trucks, the commercial vehicle market appears to be adopting Natural Gas and Electric - and those longest haul vehicles might adopt LNG or fuel cells.  Consumer vehicles will rapidly electrify, some markets where gasoline/diesel is expensive are shifting to NG, large ships are adopting NG, short-range ships are going hybrid, duel-fuel (10-20% diesel, 80-90% NG), or electric, I've read about trains using LNG, mining vehicles are testing duel-fuel engines, various off-road diesels have hybridized - you get the picture.  The vast majority of every fleet is still gasoline or diesel, but new vehicle purchases are quickly changing. 

The next 20 years should be interesting. 

[NickW + 2,714]

26 minutes ago, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

For that matter, most wouldn't necessarily need vehicles at all.  Ferries, ride sharing, rental vehicles, and public transit - all of which can be either electric or Natural Gas - could handle the vast majority of transportation needs.  Businesses who need to transport goods would be using their vehicles regularly, which is a good use case for EVs.  People with strictly short-range, low-speed requirements could use electric ATVs.  A standard, long-range EV probably doesn't make sense for many people, but there are a variety of non-oil options that do.  Iceland could easily wean itself off oil. 

For that matter, most of the world could wean itself off transportation oil.  It appears to be doing so, too.  With the exception of the longest haul trucks, the commercial vehicle market appears to be adopting Natural Gas and Electric - and those longest haul vehicles might adopt LNG or fuel cells.  Consumer vehicles will rapidly electrify, some markets where gasoline/diesel is expensive are shifting to NG, large ships are adopting NG, short-range ships are going hybrid, duel-fuel (10-20% diesel, 80-90% NG), or electric, I've read about trains using LNG, mining vehicles are testing duel-fuel engines, various off-road diesels have hybridized - you get the picture.  The vast majority of every fleet is still gasoline or diesel, but new vehicle purchases are quickly changing. 

The next 20 years should be interesting. 

Iceland is about 350km in diameter so no reason why this can't be traversed using EV's providing there are sufficient charge points along the route. 

The main goal of the Icelandic govt is to reduce imports as they have to import virtually everything. Energy is an easy one because they are swamped with renewables and the best kind (Geothermal and Hydro).

In the past they used Oil for heating but that has almost entirely been displaced by direct geothermal or electricity. Next stage is to displace oil from transport. 

[specinho + 470]

13 hours ago, BenFranklin'sSpectacles said:

How much oil do they use though?  I don't imagine Iceland has a lot of long-haul trucks or 40 minute commutes. 

 

1 hour ago, NickW said:

Iceland is about 350km in diameter so no reason why this can't be traversed using EV's providing there are sufficient charge points along the route. 

According to wikipedia "The capital and largest city is Reykjavík, with Reykjavík and the surrounding areas in the southwest of the country being home to over two-thirds of the population. " Pardon my ignorant but..........If 40 minutes commute is all it takes across the city........ and the country is called Iceland because it is full of ice......... is skiing or skating commonly done??

[ronwagn + 6,290]

3 hours ago, NickW said:

Iceland is about 350km in diameter so no reason why this can't be traversed using EV's providing there are sufficient charge points along the route. 

The main goal of the Icelandic govt is to reduce imports as they have to import virtually everything. Energy is an easy one because they are swamped with renewables and the best kind (Geothermal and Hydro).

In the past they used Oil for heating but that has almost entirely been displaced by direct geothermal or electricity. Next stage is to displace oil from transport. 

If most of the population is coastal, possibly an inroad charging rail could be built. I don't know if current E.V.s could be adapted to take advantage of that though. It might allow for much cheaper electric vehicles that could be designed. It could then be applied to similar situations worldwide. Help me out Jan, or anyone. I am over my head. 

[NickW + 2,714]

2 hours ago, ronwagn said:

If most of the population is coastal, possibly an inroad charging rail could be built. I don't know if current E.V.s could be adapted to take advantage of that though. It might allow for much cheaper electric vehicles that could be designed. It could then be applied to similar situations worldwide. Help me out Jan, or anyone. I am over my head. 

if driving from 350KM sensibly you would ant to take a break. 60KW chargers are common for EV's these days so a 30 minute coffee stop will put 30KW in the battery which typically gives 150-180KM of range. 

If doing those sort of commutes regularly I'd probably opt for a PHEV as the engine heat would be handy in that climate. 

[John Foote + 1,135]

Iceland is a fascinating one-off. Their main power source is geo-thermal. Which is a great source is you have it. But not appropriate for most of the world.