Landsvirkjun

Landsvirkjun, the National Power Company of Iceland, is Iceland's largest electricity generator. Landsvirkjun operates 17 power plants in Iceland concentrated on five main areas of operation.

Landsvirkjun
Typepublic partnership
Industryenergy
Founded1 July 1965 (1965-07-01)
Foundercity of Reykjavík
the state of Iceland
Headquarters,
Key people
Jónas Þór Guðmundsson, chairman
Hörður Arnarson, CEO
Productselectricity
Ownerthe state of Iceland
SubsidiariesLandsnet
Landsvirkjun Power
Orkufjarskipti
Icelandic Power Insurance
Hraunaveita
Websitewww.landsvirkjun.com

History

Landsvirkjun was founded on 1 July 1965 by the state of Iceland and the city of Reykjavik. The city of Reykjavík contributed to the company three power stations at the Sog River. Shortly after its founding construction on the Búrfell hydropower station began. From 1965 until 2005 the purpose of Landsvirkjun was to produce and distribute high voltage electricity. The municipality of Akureyri acquired a 5% share in Landsvirkjun in 1983 and became the third owner. Three hydropower stations at the Laxá River previously owned by the municipality of Akureyri were merged into Landsvirkjun. The hydropower stations Búrfell, Sigalda, Hrauneyjafoss, Blanda, Sultartangi, Vatnsfell, and Fljótsdalsstöð were all built by Landsvirkjun. The geothermal power station Krafla came under Landsvirkjun's ownership in 1986. Through a new electricity act in 2005 the company's Transmission Division became Landsnet, an independent limited company and a subsidiary of Landsvirkjun. Landsnet owns and operates the Icelandic transmission system and manages the country's electricity system. In 2007 the state of Iceland took over the ownership shares of Akureyri and Reykjavík in Landsvirkjun, turning it into a public partnership, fully owned by the state of Iceland. In December 2012, Landsvirkjun erected two wind turbines, in an area known as Hafið, within the construction area of Búrfell Power Station, in the south of Iceland. The turbines have a total of 2 MW of installed power.

Power stations

Landsvirkjun has 17 power stations, of which 14 are hydropower stations, two geothermal power stations and one wind power field.

StationYearTypeCapacity (MW)Production GWh/year
Laxá I1939Hydropower53
Laxá II1953Hydropower978
Laxá III1973Hydropower13.592
Ljósafoss1937Hydropower14.2105
Írafoss1953Hydropower48236
Steingrímsstöð1959Hydropower27122
Búrfell1972Hydropower2702300
Sigalda1977Hydropower150920
Hrauneyjafoss1981Hydropower2101300
Sultartangi1999Hydropower1201020
Vatnsfell2001Hydropower90490
Blanda1991Hydropower150990
Fljótsdalur2007Hydropower6905000
Krafla1977Geothermal60500
Bjarnarflag1969Geothermal318
Hafið2013Windpower2R&D project
Búðarháls 2014 Hydropower 95 585

Subsidiaries

Landsvirkjun has five subsidiaries. Landsnet (64.7% of shares is owned by Landsvirkjun) is the TSO transmission system operator of Icelandic high-voltage electricity grid. Landsvirkjun Power is to use Landsvirkjun's knowledge to conduct consultancy projects in matters related to energy on the international market. Orkufjarskipti provides telecommunication services while Icelandic Power Insurance is a captive insurance company, which handles insurance and re-insurance for Landsvirkjun's power stations and, in addition, supervises insurance for construction projects. Hraunaveita ehf. took on specific tasks in connection with the Kárahnjúkar Project, but now has no operations today.

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