New Energy Spaces; Energy From Magma And The Krafla Magma Testbed

• In Event: STS Underground: Fieldnotes from the Pre-conference Workshop

Abstract

This work moves beyond conventional discourses on energy and the subsurface and considers the role of new geological spaces and how they might challenge our current framing of energy transitions ahead. Inparticular it considers a new speculative geological energy resource – that of energy (electricity) from magma (Elders et al., 2014). A cutting edge and exploratory programme of research is currently underway at Krafla, a volcano in Northern Iceland, with a number of other possible sites emerging globally. These include New Zealand where a grant has just been awarded, with further exploration in Mexico, Japan, Russia, Kenya and the US. Krafla is now seen as a pioneer site for this emerging `science infrastructure` and subsequently named the Krafla Magma Testbed (KMT). The KMT project gives us unprecedented engagement with magma and yet also provides huge uncertainties about the outcomes, findings and risks (Clark et al., 2017). This work considers how this emerging new energy space challenges our conceptualisation of (clean) energy production given it‘s potential for utilising powerful geothermal energy, at scale, from a renewable resource. It also raises questions as to how energy from magma fits into our existing socio-technical framings of what a future energy system should be, and the implications of its emergence for future governance (Cherp et al., 2011). Here I will present the initial findings of an empirical scoping study carried out at Krafla, in May 2018. Themes explored include, the role of different geological knowledge (expert, local) and the framings of risk and responsible innovation.

Author

• Alexandra Gormally, Lancaster University, UK