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Iceland Uses Volcanic Heat, Artificial Light, and Greenhouses to Grow Tomatoes, Cucumbers, and Other Vegetables Even During the Arctic Winter.
Outside, temperatures can hover around 10°C (50°F), the wind sweeps across almost treeless fields, and winter brings months with little daylight. Inside some Icelandic greenhouses, however, the environment remains close to 20°C (68°F), with rows of tomato plants growing up to the ceiling.
This contrast summarizes a transformation that once seemed unlikely for a country located near the Arctic Circle. Iceland has begun harnessing the heat available below its surface, combined with artificial lighting and modern cultivation techniques, to produce food that previously heavily relied on imports.
The Secret Starts Kilometers Below the Farms
Iceland is located over a geologically active region. Volcanoes, hot springs, and geysers are visible signs of the immense heat existing beneath the surface.
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Water seeps into the ground, encounters heated rocks, and returns at high temperatures. This geothermal energy is already used in the country for heating, electricity production, swimming pools, industry, and agriculture.
According to Iceland’s energy authority, geothermal energy accounts for more than 60% of the country’s primary energy consumption, considering its various uses. Horticulture is among the direct applications of this resource.
It was this availability of heat that allowed the transformation of greenhouses surrounded by cold into environments capable of keeping vegetables growing for a much larger part of the year.
Hot Water Circulates Through the Greenhouses, Replacing Large Boilers
In many cold countries, keeping a greenhouse heated during winter requires burning gas, oil, or another fuel. In Iceland, producers located near suitable hot springs can use geothermal hot water directly.
A study from the Icelandic Agricultural University explains that the country’s greenhouses have an unusual characteristic compared to Dutch ones: many do not need their own boiler to generate the primary heat, as they receive geothermal water for heating.
Pipes distribute this heat throughout the environment. This way, plants that would suffer rapidly outdoors are able to remain in a temperature range favorable for growth.
The technology does not eliminate costs. Pumps, lighting, structures, irrigation, and labor remain necessary. The advantage is having access to a vast local source of heat in a country where heating a greenhouse otherwise would be much more expensive.
Cold Is No Longer the Only Problem, but Darkness Needed to Be Addressed
Heating a plant is not enough. It also requires light to perform photosynthesis and grow.
In the Icelandic summer, days are extremely long. In winter, the opposite occurs. The amount of natural light drops drastically, creating a barrier to producing tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers during the darkest months.
The Icelandic Agricultural University considers low natural light the main limitation for winter production in greenhouses. Therefore, modern structures utilize high-intensity artificial lighting.
In some facilities, the lights stay on for many hours a day. This combination allows for the artificial creation of what nature does not provide at that moment: sufficient heat and light.
Tomatoes thrive where external temperatures can hover around 12 °C
A report from DW highlighted the case of producer Tómas Ponzi in 2025. While the external temperature was about 12 °C, his greenhouse remained close to 20 °C.
He cultivates more than 30 varieties of tomatoes and supplies part of the harvest to restaurants in Reykjavík. Instead of trying to adapt tomato plants to the cold of the open fields, the producer recreates the necessary conditions within the protected structure.
This logic is spread across various Icelandic properties. Tomatoes have become one of the most visible symbols of greenhouse agriculture in the country.
It is not just a demonstration for tourists. Thousands of tons of vegetables are harvested from these structures every year.
Iceland harvested 1,362 tons of tomatoes in 2024
Official figures reveal the scale of production.
According to Statistics Iceland, the country produced 1,362 tons of tomatoes in 2024, surpassing the 1,247 tons recorded in 2023. Production increased even in a year marked by poor conditions for several outdoor crops.
The performance of bell peppers also improved. The harvest increased from 221 tons in 2023 to 228 tons in 2024.
While this is a small amount compared to major agricultural powers, for a cold, isolated country in the North Atlantic with a small population, it represents a local production capacity that would be difficult to achieve without the use of greenhouses.
Cucumbers have become one of the biggest examples of this transformation
Cucumbers are another product that has adapted very well to the Icelandic system.
In 2023, the country achieved a record 2,096 tons of cucumbers. In 2024, the volume remained nearly at the same level after two decades of steady growth.
A recent study by the Agricultural University of Iceland indicates that fresh cucumber imports are currently minimal compared to domestic production. The situation is quite different for other vegetables.
This demonstrates that a crop previously limited by climate has come very close to supplying its own market through protected cultivation.
The same independence does not yet exist for all products.
Tomato Still Needs to Be Imported in Large Quantities
Despite the growth of greenhouses, Iceland is still far from producing all the vegetables consumed in the country.
A report published by the Agricultural University shows that domestic production accounts for less than half of the demand for fresh tomatoes. For bell peppers and some other crops, the local share is even lower.
Trade data shows that Iceland imported approximately 1.56 million kilograms of fresh tomatoes in 2024, mainly from the Netherlands, Spain, and Morocco.
This helps to understand the economic opportunity. Protected agriculture does not need to create a new market. The market already exists and is currently supplied largely by ships and planes from other countries.
Each ton produced locally can replace part of that transportation.
Greenhouse Cultivation Has Almost Doubled Since the Beginning of the Century
The expansion did not happen overnight.
Studies from the Agricultural University of Iceland indicate that greenhouse vegetable production has approximately doubled since 2000, driven mainly by the growth of tomatoes and cucumbers.
Iceland’s structures tend to be smaller than the large greenhouse complexes found in the Netherlands. Many are less than half a hectare, and some utilize relatively old buildings.
Inside, however, the technology can be intense.
There is controlled irrigation, artificial lighting, air enrichment with CO₂, temperature control, and constant monitoring of plant growth.
The Cold Itself Helps Combat Some Pests
The extreme climate does not just bring challenges.
The same study on Icelandic greenhouses points out that the incidence of certain pests and diseases is relatively low, precisely due to the cold conditions outside.
This does not mean that production is exempt from phytosanitary control. Pests can survive within heated structures and need to be monitored.
But the external environment makes it difficult for many organisms to persist throughout the year.
Therefore, the climatic barrier that limits traditional agriculture can also reduce some of the biological pressure faced by greenhouses.
Not All Icelandic Agriculture Depends on Geothermal Heating
There is a second transformation happening far from the large glass structures.
Some farms grow vegetables directly in the field during the short summer or use unheated plastic tunnels to protect the plants from the wind and slightly raise the temperature around them.
The organic farm Breiðargerði, located in Skagafjörður, for example, reports cultivating a wide variety of vegetables primarily outdoors and also inside unheated tunnels.
This method costs less than a high-tech greenhouse. While it cannot recreate summer conditions throughout the winter, it can extend the production window for species that tolerate cooler temperatures.
Carrots, cabbage, turnips, and potatoes still rely heavily on summer
Not all foods need to be behind glass.
Crops such as potatoes, carrots, turnips, cabbage, and other hardy vegetables can be produced in open areas during favorable months.
The issue is that this system remains very vulnerable to the weather.
In 2024, Iceland experienced its lowest potato harvest since 1993, with only 5,514 tons. Carrot production fell to 481 tons, a 53% decrease from the previous year.
The reason was a period of severe cold, rain, and storms. In some regions, producers lost a significant portion of their crop.
While the fields suffered, the production of tomatoes and peppers inside the greenhouses increased.
The difference between field and greenhouse was evident in 2024
The year 2024 serves almost as a natural experiment to demonstrate the advantages of a controlled environment.
Open fields faced cold weather, excess water, and few favorable conditions. Grain harvests dropped to just over 5,100 tons, the lowest volume since 2018.
Potatoes and carrots also saw significant declines.
Inside the greenhouses, however, tomatoes and peppers thrived, and cucumber production remained near the previously observed record levels.
This does not mean that the structures are immune to the weather. It means that producers can control many more variables and reduce their direct dependence on outside temperatures.
Strawberries show that fruits are also starting to enter this narrative
The transformation is not limited to vegetables.
Iceland has commercial producers of strawberries, although the scale remains small compared to that of tomatoes and cucumbers. Research from the Agricultural University has documented commercial production since at least 1985.
Strawberries can be cultivated under covers during the summer or inside heated greenhouses. The main challenge still revolves around light during the winter.
Historically, the Icelandic strawberry season has been concentrated approximately between May and October. Researchers have studied artificial lighting to determine if it would be economically feasible to extend production into other months.
This is one of the areas where Icelandic agriculture still has room to grow.
Bananas exist in Iceland, but they do not supply supermarkets
The most surprising image is that of banana plants growing inside Icelandic greenhouses.
They truly exist. The Agricultural University has previously cultivated bananas in its Reykir facilities, and local research shows that modern technologies allow for the cultivation of species such as bananas, melons, and grapes in a protected environment.
However, this does not mean that Iceland has a large commercial banana industry.
The cost of maintaining a tropical crop for long periods under heat and artificial lighting makes production much harder to compete with fruits imported from tropical regions.
The significance of these crops lies primarily in demonstrating how far technology can push climatic boundaries.
Producing anything does not mean being able to produce cheaply
This is the great frontier of Icelandic agriculture.
Technically, a heated and illuminated greenhouse can create suitable conditions for a vast array of plants. Economically, however, each crop must cover the costs of electricity, infrastructure, and labor.
A lettuce grows quickly. A cucumber can produce a large amount in a small space. A well-managed tomato plant can yield fruit for months.
A banana plant needs to occupy the greenhouse for much longer before delivering its yield. This is exactly where the cost starts to make certain fruits less competitive.
Thus, the Icelandic revolution occurs first in crops that respond best to intensive agriculture.
Artificial light has become one of the main costs of winter agriculture
Having cheap hot water does not solve the entire equation.
During the darkest months, supplemental lighting can be indispensable. Experiments with tomatoes in Iceland have already used lamps for up to 16 hours a day to study winter production.
This energy comes at a cost, even in a country with significant renewable production.
The Icelandic government recognizes the importance of the issue. Recent public policies have included support for the cost of electricity for greenhouse horticulture as well as incentives aimed at outdoor cultivation.
The goal is to increase the amount of food produced domestically and reduce a part of its vulnerability to imports.
Food security has become part of the discussion
Iceland’s geography helps explain this concern.
It is an island in the North Atlantic and relies on ships and planes to receive many agricultural products, fertilizers, fuels, machines, and other inputs.
An analysis from the Agricultural University has already estimated that national horticulture provided approximately 43% of the vegetables available in the country, although this share changes with crop and year.
Cucumbers have a high level of local supply. Tomatoes remain divided between domestic production and imports. Onions and leeks are among products heavily dependent on foreign sources.
Therefore, increasing local production has also become a matter of food security.
The agricultural sector grew again in 2025
After facing difficulties with open crops in 2024, conditions improved the following year.
Statistics Iceland estimated that the total value of agricultural production reached 100 billion Icelandic crowns in 2025, a 7% increase over 2024.
The value of plant production advanced by approximately 14%, an increase largely attributed to better climatic conditions during the summer and fall.
The figure includes much more than greenhouses but shows that plant production is gaining importance in a rural economy historically very tied to livestock farming.
Iceland has not yet become an import-independent country
Supermarkets continue to receive large volumes of foreign fruits and vegetables.
In 2024 alone, fresh tomato imports surpassed 1,500 tons. Tropical products still rely almost entirely on imports.
Even so, transformation is already evident in areas that seemed unlikely just a few decades ago.
Cucumbers are being produced in large volumes locally. Tomatoes are grown during the winter. Strawberries are appearing in commercial crops. Farms are extending the season with unheated tunnels.
And banana plants, grapevines, and melons are experimentally showing that the biological limit can be very different from the economic limit.
Volcanoes Have Helped Redesign the Country’s Agriculture
Iceland hasn’t defeated the cold.
Instead, it has learned to work around it.
In the farmland areas, farmers select crops capable of completing their cycle during a short summer. Plastic tunnels protect other species without the need for large heating systems.
Inside the most advanced greenhouses, hot water drawn from underground maintains suitable temperatures while lights replace some of the sunlight lost during the winter.
The results are reflected in the statistics. In 2024, while cold and rain were damaging potatoes, carrots, and grains, the protected production of tomatoes and peppers managed to grow.
It is an agriculture formed by different pathways: geothermal energy where heat is needed, lighting where sunlight is lacking, and protected or outdoor cultivation where plants can withstand the climate without heating.
The country is still far from producing all the fruits and vegetables it consumes. But, close to the Arctic, Iceland has already managed to achieve something that seemed contradictory: turning part of its volcanic activity, cold, and climatic limitations into tools for placing fresh food on shelves for an increasing share of the year.
