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45 MW expansion considered for Theistareykir geothermal plant

Alexander Richter 2 May 2022

Iceland's national power company Landsvirkjun is considering a 45 MW expansion for its 90 MW Theistareykir geothermal power plant in the Northeast of Iceland.

As reported in local news last week, Icelandic national power company Landsvirkjun is looking at the possibility of a 45 MW expansion of its Theistareykir geothermal power plant in the Northeast of Iceland. This would, so the piece, also require additional drilling efforts on site.

Construction on the Theistareykir geothermal power plant began in 2014 and the plant with its two 45 MW units started operation in 2018. At the same time, a high-voltage line was laid to Bakki, where the energy is used by a silica plant by German company PCC, which is 28 kilometers southeast of Húsavík. Now Landsvirkjun is considering an expansion.

“That station was commissioned in 2017 and 2018 and today has two machines. But it was also designed so that the option was available to add a third engine later on and we are starting to look at that now, “says Ásbjörg Kristinsdóttir, Managing Director of Landsvirkjun.

“We have approached this area very carefully, utilizing geothermal energy in this area, but we believe that the area is well placed to receive the third engine, the station which today is 90 megawatts. The new 45 MW engine could be added there. ”

So far, 17 steam wells have been drilled at Theistareykir and twelve of them have been connected to the station, but it has been estimated that the area could allow a development up to a 200 MW of power generation capacity. But do you need to drill more? “Yes, this project would involve further drilling in the area,” Ásbjörg answers.

In 2019, Landsvirkjun received the prestigious IPMA Global Project Excellence Award, as we reported.

At the moment, Landsvirkjun is planning the 95 MW hydropower Hvammsvirkjun plant project in Thorsjá to be next on the agenda, with initial construction even as early as this autumn. Construction on the Theistareykir plant could then follow.

“If we were to speed up this project, it could have reached the tender design stage next year,” says Landsvirkjun’s Managing Director of Landsvirkjun.

Source: Visir.is