Svartsengi power station

Svartsengi power station
Svartsengi power station
Map
CountryIceland
LocationKeflavík
Coordinates63°52′43″N 22°25′58″W / 63.87861°N 22.43278°W / 63.87861; -22.43278
StatusOperational
Commission date1976–2008
OwnerHS Orka
Geothermal power station
Type5 shallow steam wells
8 steam and brine wells
150 ha (370 acres)
Min. source temp.101 °C (210 °F)
Wells13
Max. well depth1,800 m (5,900 ft)
Cogeneration?yes
Power generation
Units operational2 × 1 MW
1 × 6 MW
7 × 1.2 MW
2 × 30 MW[1]
Nameplate capacity74.4 MW
External links
Websitehttps://www.hsorka.is/en/about-hs-orka/the-business/orkuver/svartsengi-power-plant/
CommonsRelated media on Commons

Svartsengi power station (Svartsengi (Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈsvar̥(t)sˌeiɲcɪ]); "black meadow" in Icelandic) is a geothermal power plant, which is located in the Svartsengi geothermal field, about 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) north of Grindavík, approximately 20 km (12 mi) SE of Keflavík International Airport and 45 km (28 mi) from Reykjavík. The electric power station was built in 1976 by HS Orka. It was the world's first combined geothermal power plant for electric power generation and hot water production for district heating.

The power station, which consists of an area of 150 ha (370 acres), was constructed in six sequent phases (completed in 2008), in each phase they built a new power plant, so the generation capacity increased to 150 MWth for the district heating and the nameplate capacity to 75 MW for electricity power.[2]

Svartsengi power station provides hot water for the district heating system of the entire Reykjanes Peninsula, including Keflavík, Njarðvík, Vogar, Garður, Sandgerði and Grindavík – more than 21,000 households. It is therefore considered one of the most important heating plants in Iceland. It is connected to the wider Icelandic electrical grid to Reykjavík.[3][4]

Svartsengi has also produced spin-offs; one of these side products is one of Iceland's most popular bathing resorts, the Blue Lagoon, and another is the first renewable methanol plant, Carbon Recycling International.[2][5][6]

  1. ^ "Three Decades of Power Generation-Svartsengi Power Plant" (PDF). geothermal-energy.org.
  2. ^ a b "Svartsengi Power Plant – Information pamphlet" (PDF). Alterra Power Corp.
  3. ^ Biba, Erin (1 November 2013). "Tour One of Iceland's Incredible Geothermal Plants". Popular Mechanics.
  4. ^ "Maintenance History of a Geothermal Plant: Svartsengi Iceland" (PDF). April 2005. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Geothermal exploration, development and utilization at Svartsengi | Iceland Geosurvey". Archived from the original on 22 December 2015. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  6. ^ "Power Electronics Equipment - Electrical Equipment Manufacturers" (PDF). americas.fujielectric.com.