The Hellisheiði Power Station (, ) is the eighth-largest
geothermal Geothermal is related to energy and may refer to:
* Geothermal energy, useful energy generated and stored in the Earth
* Geothermal activity, the range of natural phenomena at or near the surface, associated with release of the Earth's internal he ...
power station in the world and largest in Iceland.
[
] The facility is located in
Hengill, southwest
Iceland
Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...
, from the
Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station. The plant has a capacity of of electricity and th of hot water for
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...
's
district heating
District heating (also known as heat networks) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heater, space heating and w ...
. The power station is owned and operated by
ON Power, a subsidiary of
Reykjavík Energy.
History
Electricity production with two
turbines
A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...
commenced in 2006. In 2007, an additional low pressure
steam turbine
A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...
of was added. In 2008, two turbines were added with steam from Skarðsmýrarfjall Mountain. The hot water plant was introduced in 2010 and the last two high pressure 45 MW turbines were added in 2011.
In order to reduce
hydrogen sulphide
Hydrogen sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless chalcogen-hydride gas, and is toxic, corrosive, and flammable. Trace amounts in ambient atmosphere have a characteristic foul odor of rotten eggs. Swedish chemist Ca ...
pollution in the capital area, a system was added to the plant in 2014 which reinjects non-condensable gases into the ground. In 2020, the hot water production was increased to 200 MWth to meet the increased
district heating
District heating (also known as heat networks) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heater, space heating and w ...
demand as the capital area expands.
Renewed drilling
In 2016, the operator, ON, announced a program of new drilling to deal with falling steam levels which had first become apparent in 2013. The program was expected in 2017 to cost 19 billion Icelandic crowns to maintain a steady electric output.
Features
The power plant offers educational tours and presentations about
sustainable energy
Energy system, Energy is sustainability, sustainable if it "meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." Definitions of sustainable energy usually look at its effects on the e ...
as part of its Geothermal Energy Exhibition.
A pilot
direct air capture facility operated by
Climeworks is co-located at this site. It was partially funded by the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
's
Horizon 2020
The Framework Programmes for Research and Technological Development, also called Framework Programmes or abbreviated FP1 to FP9, are funding programmes created by the European Union/European Commission to support and foster research in the Europe ...
program, and captures up to 4,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. The carbon dioxide is captured, injected into the ground, and mineralized.
See also
*
Geothermal power in Iceland
*
List of largest power stations in the world
This article lists the largest Electricity generation, power stations in the world, the ten overall and the five of each type, in terms of installed electrical Nameplate capacity, capacity. Non-renewable resource, Non-renewable power stations are ...
*
List of power stations in Iceland
*
Renewable energy in Iceland
Iceland is a world leader in renewable energy. 100% of the electricity in Iceland's electricity grid is produced from renewable resources. In terms of total energy supply, 85% of the total primary energy supply in Iceland is derived from domesti ...
*
CarbFix
References
External links
Hellisheiði Power Plant 2006-10-21 - Picture gallery from islandsmyndir.is* [https://web.archive.org/web/20140415203703/http://islandsmyndir.is/html_skjol/annad/Virkjanir/Hellisheidarvirkjun-2009-10-04/index.html Hellisheiði Power Plant 2009-10-04 - Picture gallery from islandsmyndir.is]
Hellisheiði Power Plant, Inside 2012-04-27 - Picture gallery from islandsmyndir.is
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hellisheidi Power Station
Geothermal power stations in Iceland