Sigalda Power Plant ( is, Sigöldustöð ; "Sigalda station" ) is an electric generating plant located in the southern

Highlands of Iceland The Highlands of Iceland ( is, hálendið ) are a sparsely inhabited plateau that covers most of the interior of Iceland. They are situated above 400–500 metres (1300–1600 feet) and are mostly an uninhabitable volcanic desert, because the wa ...

near

Þórisvatn Þórisvatn (; sometimes anglicized to Thorisvatn) is the largest lake of Iceland, situated at the south end of Sprengisandur highland road within the highlands of Iceland. It is a reservoir of a surface about 88 km2 and uses the energy of t ...

. It is the biggest

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

, located around 160 km east from

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

, among Hrauneyjalón and Krókslón reservoirs. It was officially launched early 1978. This power plant is the newest of six other hydroelectric plants ( Búrfell, Búðarháls, Vatnsfell, Sultartangi, Hrauneyjafoss). Its construction was quick. It created demand for more hydropower plants to meet electricity needs in the country. Sigalda with

Tungnaá The Tungnaá () is a river in the southern Highlands of Iceland. It flows from the western edge of Vatnajökull to the reservoir Sultartangalón, where it joins the Þjórsá. The river has been used extensively for hydroelectricity, with power ...

river is at the top of the canyon on Sigalda hill.

Design

Construction of the Sigalda Hydroelectric Power Station began in 1978, and included three 50-MW turbines. The Sigalda Station is linked into the national grid with 220 kV transmission lines to the Sultartangi, Hrauneyjafoss and Vatnsfell Stations, as well as a 132-kV line to southeast Iceland. Together the installed capacity measures 150 МВт and is able to produce 650 gWh p.a. with a flow rate of 230 m³/s. Sigalda Dam dams the

River at the top of the canyon above Sigalda Hill, where it forms Krókslón, a 14 km2 reservoir. The rock-fill dam is 925 m long, clad with asphalt, and 40 m tall at its highest point. The water is carried 1 km through an intake canal from Krókslón Reservoir to the western edge of Sigalda Hill. Three pressure shafts, 216 m long and 4.3 m in diameter, run to the powerhouse north of the old riverbed, in part buried inside the Sigalda hillside. The harnessed head is 74 m. A 550 m tailrace canal leads from the powerhouse into the Hrauneyjafoss Reservoir.

External links

Sigalda Power Station
{{coord, 64.1732, -19.1270, type:landmark_region:IS, display=title Hydroelectric power stations in Iceland