Alcoa has announced a joint initiative with the Iceland Government to conduct feasibility studies for a 250,000 metric tonne per year aluminium smelter, powered largely by geothermal energy.
The proposed site is at Bakki, near Husavik in northern Iceland.
Bakki was one of three proposed sites, chosen after Alcoa conducted its final assessment based on the three key factors of sustainable development: the economic, social and environmental aspects of the proposal.
Alcoa said its assessment covered site geology and topography, climate, coastal marine conditions, harbour facilities, transportation, power supply, community demographics, community acceptance, labour market, employment potential, aesthetics, archaeological importance, ecology, and other factors.
The Iceland Government indicated that the Bakki site was the first in the country's history to undergo such a broad public comparative analysis for an industrial site selection in Iceland.
Even if the feasibility studies prove the viability of the proposed smelter, ground may not be broken until 2010.
Iceland's Industry and Commerce Minister Valgerdur Sverrisdottir said the Bakki site would now be subjected to further detailed studies, but the establishment of an aluminium smelter based on renewable hydro or geothermal energy in North Iceland was an essential part of the Government's economic development strategy.
"It is essential that we use our clean and renewable energy sources to broaden and strengthen our economy through regional industrial development that will deliver stable, long-term, sustainable benefits," Sverrisdottir said.
The minister said Alcoa's Fjardaal smelter, currently under construction in East Iceland, had already significantly reinvigorated the region's economy, and the Government was keen to seek similar development in the northern region, built upon a sustainable platform.
Alcoa executive vice-president Bernt Reitan, also the president of Alcoa Global Primary Products said the feasibility study was an important and challenging project, but not yet a decision to build a smelter.
"This could conceivably be one of the first geothermal-powered smelters in the world, so we have a great deal of work ahead of us to prove the feasibility of this project – particularly around the cost, and timing of delivery, of power – but this is an outstanding opportunity to continue building our successful relationship with the Government and people of Iceland," Reitan said.
Meanwhile in Quebec, Canada, Alcoa has just completed its practical assessment of DynaMotive's BioOil – fuel derived from agricultural and forestry waste – as an alternative fuel for boilers and furnaces at one of Alcoa's largest aluminium manufacturing facilities, the Baie-Comeau plant.
During the tests, Alcoa fitted one of its furnaces to use BioOil, using its existing instrumentation and making minor changes to the system.
A team of engineers and technicians from Alcoa and DynaMotive jointly followed pre-determined testing protocols, piping and instrumentation requirements, designed and installed the BioOil handling systems, and executed the tests.
The testing was designed to assess the biomass oil's capacity to increase the temperature of the furnace to the required operational parameters within a specific timeframe, and ensure those parameters were consistently maintained.
DynaMotive said the preliminary findings indicated that, under certain conditions and with adapted BioOil burners, BioOil might represent a potential replacement for heating oil used at the plant, although revamping the boilers and the furnaces to fire BioOil would require traditional mechanical alterations.
DynaMotive said the Alcoa Baie-Comeau tests were the largest-scale BioOil combustion testing it had conducted, in terms of fuel volumes and fuel application.
Alcoa has said it indicated to Dynamotive it is interested in continuing the project.
