Renewable energy could fuel Iceland data business boom

Associated Press

Iceland's cheap and renewable sources of electricity could give it an edge in the power-intensive business of data transmission and storage, MIT Technology Review reports.

The country produces the highest electricity per capita in the world, from renewable sources such as geothermal vents and glacier-fed rivers. Iceland is making plans to build a 100-gigabit-per-second undersea cable spanning 6,700 kilometers from New York to Canada, with a branch to Iceland, according to the report. Read the full story here .

Another factor that could portend the boom: laws in favor of the free flow of information. Iceland's Parliament, the Althing, in 2010 unanimously voted in favor of the Icelandic Modern Media Initiative , a legislative package to protect media and whistleblower sites. The law would also clarify when to grant immunity for "mere conduits," Internet service providers and telecommunications carriers.