Hydropower
Our utilization of hydropower involves converting the kinetic energy of rivers into electricity. Reykjavík Energy's oldest power station with this function is the Elliðaárstöð in Reykjavík, which was commissioned in 1921.
Electricity generation at the Elliðaárstöð ceased in 2014 after the penstock, which transported water from the Árbær dam to the power station, ruptured. It was declared beyond repair.
Subsequently, it was examined whether repairing it would be cost-effective, but the conclusion was negative; electricity from the station would be so expensive that finding a buyer would be difficult. In 2019, it was decided that power generation would not resume in the foreseeable future. An idea competition was then held for a new role for the structures, all of which had been listed as protected in 2012. The development under the Elliðaár Power Station brand is the result of that work.
Read more about the decommissioning of the Elliðaárstöð here.
Andakílsár Power Station
Generating electricity from hydropower comes with the responsibility of ensuring that the process has the least possible negative impact on the environment and ecosystem of the harnessed watercourse. To this end, numerous stakeholders in the power plant's operation are consulted.
The hydroelectric power plants of the people of Reykjavík in the Sog river were incorporated into Landsvirkjun when that company was founded in 1965. Reykjavík Energy acquired the Andakílsárvirkjun power plant in Borgarfjörður when the town of Akranes joined the group of Reykjavík Energy's owners in 2002, but Orka náttúrunnar operates that plant.
Click here to learn more about Andakílsárvirkjun.
