Vatnsfell Power Station

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The Vatnsfell power plant ( Isl Vatnsfellsvirkjun or Vatnsfellsstöð = Vatnsfellstation ) is a hydroelectric power plant in the Icelandic highlands near Sprengisandur.

Vatnsfellsstöð is a peak-load power plant, which is primarily operates in winter, when the demand for electricity in Iceland is the highest. It was built between 1999 and 2001 by the Icelandic power utility Landsvirkjun. The planning was involved, among other things, with the German company Lahmeyer International.

Construction and Technology

The power plant uses the difference in height between the two reservoirs Þórisvatn (height above sea level 577 m) and Krókslón ( altitude 498 m ), which were connected by a channel. This channel was again through a 750 m long causeway to a small reservoir Vatnsfellslón (height 563 m, area 0.6 km ², storage volume 3.2 eq ) dammed.

From the water intake long tubes with 4.5 m diameter and 67 m gap to two Francis turbines from GE Hydro, each with 45 MW of electrical power flows through two 126 m. The design flow is 160 m³ / s; annual average flow rate is about half this value.

As underwater is again the channel that leads into the Krókslón Lake after 2.4 km.

About a 220 kV high- voltage line Vatnsfell the power plant is connected to the located at Krókslón Lake Sigalda power plant.

Art works at the power plant

At the feet of the power station two artworks were installed between 2003 and 2005:

• The Icelandic artist group Gjörningaklúbbinn ( Icelandic Love Corporation) created the artwork Mother Earth ( Móðir Jörd ). It consists of a triangular piece of land that stands out from the barren environment for its growth. The limits are illuminated by the energy of the power plant, so that in particular at dusk an impressive picture created (see left).

• The Icelandic artist Finnbogi Pétursson created a square, walk-in sound tube called Tíðni (frequency), which can be heard in accordance with the line frequency of the power plant a buzzing sound of 50 Hz.