Bjarnarflag - Iceland's oldest geothermal station
The Bjarnarflag Geothermal power station is Iceland’s first and also one of the least known. This is unfortunate because, the plant’s success was a watershed moment in Iceland’s history, and was the impetus for many larger geothermal projects to come. It also provided much needed clean, reliable power for this somewhat remote part of Iceland years before the realization of a national energy grid, which wasn’t completed until 1980.
The Bjarnarflag Geothermal Power Plant is located in North Iceland not far from the town of Husavik and the historic Lake Myvatn. Construction of the plant began in the summer of 1968 and in March, 1969, the plant started producing electricity.
Bjarnarflag uses steam from the Námafjall geothermal field to produce 3MW of electrical energy from one small steam turbine. Steam from this geothermal field is also used for district heating in the area and for the Kísiliðjan Diatomite Plant.
In the plants nearly 41 years of service, it has been shut down twice. The first instance happened in approximately 1980 when the plant was shut down and disassembled due to ongoing tectonic and volcanic activity in the area. The plant was later reinstalled and continued generating power until 2001 when the plant received a complete overhaul to it generator, turbines and other equipment.
The plant was originally owned by Laxá Power Company. In 1983 the plant was acquired by Landsvirkjun, Iceland’s national power company, when Laxá merged with Landsvirkjun. The plant was designed and by a company that is now called Mannvit Engineering which specializes in geothermal energy, hydroelectric power and EPCM services.
