| Abstract |
Sustainable energy development has become a prominent policy objective worldwide. What that entails can differ significantly from one energy system to the next. Without a clear notion of what sustainable energy future should look like, it is difficult to chart the path towards it. Stakeholder engagement in decision making and policy development is essential as is progressively more recognized, if only to increase public acceptance and capture a more representative picture of the problem in question. An effective stakeholder engagement process can be used to identify what the sustainable energy development of a system would involve. In this research, stakeholders to the Icelandic energy system were engaged for the purpose of determining what a sustainable energy future in Iceland should entail. Key stakeholders of the system were engaged through individual semi-structured interviews, the public’s voice was captured through focus groups, and results were verified through a Delphi survey. Based on stakeholder input, it was possible to identify various themes and goals of sustainable energy development in Iceland. As anticipated, geothermal energy was part of that discussion. The environmental and even health benefits of the utilization of geothermal energy for district heating were highlighted by many. Questions were, however, raised on how sustainable geothermal energy really is, how efficiency of utilization could be increased and the associated environmental impacts decreased. An insight into the role of geothermal energy in Iceland‘s sustainable energy future and what that future holds in store is crucial to decision-makers in the country, especially since there is no long-term strategy for energy development in place. |