Landsvirkjun

Landsvirkjun, () the National Power Company of Iceland, is Iceland's largest electricity generator. Landsvirkjun operates 21 power plants in Iceland concentrated across five main operational areas.

History Landsvirkjun was founded on 1 July 1965 by the state of Iceland and the city of Reykjavík. The city of Reykjavík contributed to the company three power stations on 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 on 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 1985.

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 21 power stations, of which 15 are hydropower stations, three geothermal power stations and two wind power field.

Station Year built Type Nameplatecapacity(MW) Production(GWh/year) Capacity factor Laxá I 1939 Hydropower 5 3 6.8% Laxá II 1953 Hydropower 9 78 98.9% Laxá III 1973 Hydropower 13.5 92 77.8% Ljósafoss 1937 Hydropower 16 105 74.1% Írafoss 1953 Hydropower 48 236 56.1% Steingrímsstöð 1959 Hydropower 27 122 51.6% Búrfell 1969 Hydropower 270 2300 97.2% Sigalda 1978 Hydropower 150 920 70.0% Hrauneyjafoss 1981 Hydropower 210 1300 70.7% Blanda 1991 Hydropower 150 990 75.3% Sultartangi 1999 Hydropower 125 1020 93.1% Vatnsfell 2001 Hydropower 90 490 62.1% Fljótsdalur 2007 Hydropower 690 4800 79.4%Búðarháls2014Hydropower9558570.3% Krafla 1977 Geothermal 60 500 95.1% Bjarnarflag 1969 Geothermal 5 42 95.9%Theistareykir2017Geothermal9073893.6% Hafið 2013 Windpower 1.8 6.7 42.5%Sum by type (calculated figure) Hydropower 1898.5 13041 78.4%Sum by type (calculated figure) Geothermal 155 1280 94.3%Sum total (calculated figure) All types combined 2055.3 14327.7 79.6%

Subsidiaries

Landsvirkjun has five subsidiaries: Landsnet (64.7% of shares are owned by Landsvirkjun) is the transmission system operator (TSO) of the Icelandic high-voltage electricity grid. Landsvirkjun Power uses Landsvirkjun's knowledge to conduct consultancy projects in matters related to energy on the international market. Orkufjarskipti provides telecommunication services. Icelandic Power Insurance is a captive insurance company, which handles insurance and reinsurance 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.

Landsvirkjun

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