Landsvirkjun secures $50m NIB loan for Theistareykir project

Power house for Theistareykir plant, Iceland in late April 2016 (source: ThinkGeoEnergy, creative commons)

Alexander Richter 29 Jun 2016

Announced today, Icelandic National Power Compnay Landsvirkjun and the Nordic Investment Bank (NIB) have signed a USD 50 million long-term loan agreement without a guarantee of collection for the construction of the Theistareykir project. Along with a recent loan from the NIB, this agreement marks the completion of the financing of the Theistareykir project.

The 16-year maturity loan has been provided for the construction of the Theistareykir power station, which will have a capacity of 90 MWe. The favourable geothermal conditions in the area are expected to enable a total installed capacity of up to 200 MWe.

Landsvirkjun, the National Power Company of Iceland, is owned by the Icelandic state and is the country’s largest electricity generator. The company generates around 70% of all electricity used in Iceland with 100% renewable energy sources.

NIB is an international financial institution owned by eight member countries: Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway and Sweden. The Bank finances private and public projects in and outside the member countries.

In a statement, Hörður Arnarson, CEO of Landsvirkjun, said: “We are very pleased with the trust and support shown by the The Nordic Investment Bank by granting this loan. The construction on the Theistareykir site is going well and the power station will commence operations in the fall of 2017. We expect that the power plant will be provide great support for the local industry and economy in North-Eastern Iceland.”

Note: In a previous version of this article, we mistakenly wrote about the European Investment Bank having provided the loan, while it actually was the Nordic Investment Bank. We apologise for the mistake.

Source: Company release