Editing Geothermal power in Iceland (section)

=== Government policy ===
{{Further|Energy in Iceland}}
[[File:Pipeline_from_Nesjavellir_Geothermal_Power_Plant_to_Reykjavik_-_panoramio.jpg|left|thumb|380x380px|A pipeline from the Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Plant to Reykjavik]]
Iceland's government policies strongly encourage the usage of renewable energy resources in power production. These policies stem from energy issues that the country had faced in years past; in the 1970s, for example, Iceland's government responded to increasing oil prices by replacing oil with geothermal energy in [[district heating]].<ref name=":102" /> As a result, the cost of heating was decreased significantly, and compared to most other countries, was much lower.

As progress continued on geothermal energy projects and investments, the National Energy Authority laid out their master plan to implement the use of geothermal energy in two phases.<ref name=":16">{{Cite web |title=Master Plan |url=https://nea.is/geothermal/master-plan/ |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=National Energy Authority of Iceland |language=en}}</ref> The first phase was conducted during 1999–2003, which primarily focused on data gathering.<ref name=":16" /> The second phase was conducted during 2004–2009, where the first half of those years was spent on further research and the second half spent on evaluating geothermal fields.<ref name=":16" /> A total of 24 potential geothermal projects were considered under the master plan.<ref name=":16" /> Today, many of these projects are still under consideration by the [[Althing|Icelandic Parliament]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Master Plan today |url=https://www.ramma.is/english/the-master-plan-today/ |access-date=2022-11-05 |website=Rammaáætlun |language=is}}</ref>

The government still faces issues with providing all households with accessibility to geothermal power, as there remain villages and rural areas that lack geothermal heating infrastructure.<ref name=":102" /> To combat this issue, Iceland's government is continuously engaging in exploration activities for the villages and rural areas to explore possible locations for geothermal energy infrastructure. In 2019, the construction of a 20-km hot water transmission pipeline from a geothermal field to the town of [[Höfn]] was constructed to replace electricity as their source of heating for 1,800 people.<ref name=":102" />

Iceland's government has also put effort into foreign policies and investments that encourage other nations to harness renewable energy such as geothermal power. One of Iceland's foreign efforts is the African Rift Geothermal Development Facility Project, which began in 2010, and is performed in partnership with the [[United Nations Environment Programme]] (UNEP) in countries such as [[Ethiopia]], [[Kenya]] and [[Rwanda]].<ref name=":11">{{Cite web |date=2020-06-24 |title=Iceland, a world leader in clean energy, supports Africa's push for geothermal power |url=https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/story/iceland-world-leader-clean-energy-supports-africas-push-geothermal-power |access-date=2022-10-25 |website=UNEP |language=en}}</ref> Iceland has also helped train geothermal engineers from around the world through the United Nations University Geothermal Training Programme.<ref name=":11" />