Saving Iceland Blockades Century Smelter at Grundartangi
19.07.2007
News of Saving Iceland’s latest action as part of the Summer of Resistance to the aluminium industry in Iceland.
GRUNDARTANGI – Saving Iceland has this afternoon closed the single supply road from Highway 1 to the Century/Nordural smelter on Hvalfjordur and the steel factory Elkem – Icelandic Alloys. Saving Iceland opposes the planned new Century smelter at Helguvik and the expansion of the Icelandic Alloys factory. Activists have used lock-ons (metal arm tubes) to form a human blockade on the road and have occupied a construction site crane.
Century Aluminum, a part of the recently formed Russian-Swiss RUSAL/Glencore/SUAL conglomorate, want to build a second smelter in Iceland in Helguvik with a projected capacity of at least 250.000 metric tons per annum. The planned site is designed to accommodate further expansion. Grundartangi has this year been extended to 260.000 mtpa.
Currently, an environmental impact assessment (1) is under review for the Helguvik smelter, produced by the construction consultants HRV (Honnun/Rafhonnun/VST).
“It is absurd that an engineering company with a vested interest in the smelter construction could be considered to produce an objective impact assessment. The document makes absurd claims, such as that pollution is really not a problem because Helguvik is such a windy place that the pollution will just blow away,” says Saving Iceland’s Snorri Páll Jónsson Úlfhildarson.”
“This smelter will demand new geothermal power plants at Seltún, Sandfell, Austurengjar and Trölladyngju. In addition to the Hengill area which has already been seriously damaged by Reykjavik Energy. The impact assessment does not take these into account, nor the impact of the huge amount of
power lines and pylons required. The plants will ruin the natural and scenic value of the whole peninsula. Also, the recquired capacity, 400 MW, exceeds the natural capactity of the geothermal spots, and they will cool down in three to four decades (2). And Century admits it wants the site to expand further in the next decades. So it is obvious that this smelter will not just ruin Reykjanes but also need
additional hydropower.”
The impact procedure seems to be completely irrelevant anyway, since the company has completed an equity offering worth $360 million to be deployed for partly financing the construction of the Helguvik smelter project (3). This indicates that Century already has high level assurances that the project is to continue no matter what.
This completely contradicts the claims the new government of
Iceland, and particularly it’s environment minister Þórunn
Sveinbjarnardóttir, is opposed to new smelter projects.
Icelandic Alloys wants to expand its facility for producing
ferrosilicon for the steel industry. It is in fact one of Iceland’s largest contributors to greenhouse gases and other pollutants (4).
“Expansion of Icelandic Alloys and Century considerably contribute to Iceland’s greenhouse emissions. If there are no further expansions of heavy industry beyond Grundartangi and ALCOA Fjardaal, Iceland will emit 38% more greenhouse gases than in 1990. If other expansion plans continue, levels would rise to an incredible 63% above 1990 levels. (5). That is completely irresponsible.
This shows that all the talk about ‘green energy’ from hydro and geothermal is, in reality, a lie. Icelanders have to rise up against these foreign corporations,” says Úlfhildarson.
More information:
http://www.savingiceland.org
Notes and references:
1. Environmental Impact Assesment, HRV, may 2007, http://www.hrv.is/media/files/Frummatsskýrsla_2007-05-02_low%20res.pdf
2. Landvernd, Letter to national planning agency, 28th June 2007, http://www.landvernd.is/myndir/Umsogn_Helguvik.pdf
3. Credit Suisse, June 12th 2007, http://www.newratings.com/
analyst_news/article_1548857.html
4. Icelandic Ministry of the Environment, March 2006, http://
unfccc.int/resource/docs/natc/islnc4.pdf
5. Idem.
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Icelandic Embassy Targeted by Activists
On the morning of 20th July, the Icelandic embassy on Queen St, Edinburgh was targeted by members of Saving Iceland(1). Paint was thrown on the building, the lock was glued and a message was affixed to the exterior reading “The Whole World is Watching”. “Iceland Bleeds” was also painted on the steps. The action served as response to recent acts of police brutality against Saving Iceland activists in Reykjavik who continue to oppose the assault on the Icelandic wilderness by heavy industry.
Icelandic Police attacked a non-violent Reclaim the Streets protest in the centre of Reykjavik, on July 14th. Video evidence(2) shows Icelandic police violently throwing protesters to the ground while others were punched and kicked. Five peaceful protesters were held in police cells, one with a broken rib after the police attack. The Reclaim the Streets demonstration was part of a continuing action camp held near Reykjavik this summer, involving activists from across the globe, including Scotland.
The recent expansion of large-scale aluminium production in Iceland has involved a barely democratic process and a comprehensive devastation of vast natural areas on a scale unprecedented in Europe today.
The Saving Iceland activists responsible for the action against the Icelandic Embassy state:
“We are sending a clear message to the Icelandic government that the destruction of unique ecosystems has environmental implications for us all. The repression of those who are opposing these destructive mega–projects is unacceptable. In the context of the current climate crisis we must all take responsibility for the destruction of our planet by criminal corporations such as Alcoa. The whole world is watching”.
The action in Edinburgh was an expression of solidarity with the activists and Icelandic people who are attempting to stand up to the unjust rule of the aluminium industry over democracy. Saving Iceland activists state: “We will not stop until the corporate invasion of the Icelandic wilderness has ceased. The world is not dying, it is being murdered. And those who are doing it need to be held accountable.”
(1) Saving Iceland is an Icelandic based direct action group opposed to continued expansion of heavy industry in Iceland. It involves participants from all over the world in collective resistance to the Icelandic state’s “Masterplan” which includes the damming of every major glacial river in Iceland by 2020 solely for the purpose of aluminum smelting. Saving Iceland has organised three summers of international protest to halt this vast destruction. It will not cease it’s opposition until all aluminum production leaves Iceland. For more info visit www.savingiceland.org
(2) Video documentation of the police violence on Saturday 14th in Reykjavik can be found at the following link. Note the use of pressure points applied for an extended period to the man on the ground and the accompanying and prolonged screaming: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NenbTc0cQs4&mode=user&search
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The Clown Army and Saving Iceland invade Reykjavik Energy building
20.07.2007
Clowns redecorate Reykjavik Energy O.R.s interior with banner. Strawberries were offered by the corporate scum, but the clowns were not swayed from their action.
Today 25 protestors from Saving Iceland went into Orkuveitu Reykjavíkur (Reykjavik Energy, O.R.) and hung up a banner inside stating: ‘Vopnaveita Reykjavíkur?’ (‘Reykjavik Arms-dealers?’). The banner was not hung outside as planned earlier because of weather conditions. Protestors stayed in the building from 15.15 until 16.00 hrs.
Páll Erland speaking on behalf of O.R. states that they offered strawberries to protestors and welcomed Saving Iceland to put up the banner. While Erland might be happy to discuss strawberries with their visitors, they certainly did not give permission to hang up a banner indicating that they sell energy to companies known to be involved in arms production and serious human rights violations (as documented in our earlier press release). Saving Iceland has now contacted O.R., requesting they put up the banner and discuss publicly with us the ethics of selling energy to corporate criminals such as Century-RUSAL and Alcan-RioTinto.