Landsvirkjun is the largest energy producer in Iceland

Iceland

Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...

. It was founded in 1965 by the city of Reykjavík

Reykjavík

Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...

 and the state of Iceland. Its general purpose is to produce and provide electricity for heavy industry and to sell electricity to local providers around Iceland. It runs 16 hydroelectric and geothermal power stations as well as one natural gas-fired station.

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

Sog River

Sog is the largest freshwater river in Iceland in terms of water volume. Average flow is 110 m³/s. It runs from Lake Þingvallavatn for 21.9km to its confluence with the river Hvítá, forming the river Ölfusá which then runs for another 25 km into the Atlantic Ocean.There are three hydroelectric...

. 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

Akureyri

Akureyri is a town in northern Iceland. It is Iceland's second largest urban area and fourth largest municipality ....

 acquired a 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

Vatnsfell Power Station

Vatnsfell is an Icelandic hydroelectric power station situated in the Highlands of Iceland, at the south end of lake Þórisvatn, just before the Sprengisandur highland road....

, and Fljótsdalsstöð were all built by Landsvirkjun. The geothermal power station Krafla

Krafla Power Station

The Krafla Power Station is a geothermal power station located near the Krafla Volcano inIceland. Since 1999, it produces 60 MW of energy.-History:The following list shows the development timeline of the power station since 1974:...

 came under Landsvirkjun's ownership in 1986. Through a new electricity act in 2005 the company's Transmission Division became Landsnet

Landsnet

Landsnet is a transmission system operator of the Icelandic high-voltage power grid. It is a public company owned by Landsvirkjun , Rafmagnsveitur rikisins , Orkuveita Reykjavíkur , and Orkubu Vestfjarða ....

, 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.

Power stations

Landsvirkjun has 16 power stations, of which 13 are hydropower stations

Icelandic hydroelectric power stations

Over 80% of electricity in Iceland is generated in hydroelectric power stations. While geothermal energy is used for heating , the hydroelectric power stations, historically all run by Landsvirkjun, are central to the existence of Iceland as an industrialized country.The largest power station by...

, two geothermal power stations

Geothermal power in Iceland

Due to the special geological location of Iceland, the high concentration of volcanoes in the area is often an advantage in the generation of geothermal energy, the heating and production of electricity...

 and one natural gas

Natural gas

Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...

-fired reserve station.

Station	Year	Type	Capacity (MW)	Production GWh/year
Laxá I	1939	Hydropower	5
Laxá II	1953	Hydropower	9	76
Laxá III	1973	Hydropower	13.5
Ljósifoss	1937	Hydropower	14.2
Ýrufoss	1953	Hydropower	47.7
Steingrímsstöð	1959	Hydropower	27
Búrfell	1972	Hydropower	270	2093
Sigalda	1977	Hydropower	150	650
Hrauneyjafoss	1981	Hydropower	210	1034
Sultartangi	1999	Hydropower	120	880
Vatnsfell Vatnsfell Power Station Vatnsfell is an Icelandic hydroelectric power station situated in the Highlands of Iceland, at the south end of lake Þórisvatn, just before the Sprengisandur highland road....	2001	Hydropower	90	450
Blanda	1991	Hydropower	150	720
Fljótsdalur Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Project Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant is a hydroelectric power plant in eastern Iceland designed to produce 4,600 GWh annually for Alcoa's Fjardaál aluminum smelter to the east in Reyðarfjörður. The project, named after nearby Mount Kárahnjúkur, involves damming the Jökulsá á Dal River and the Jökulsá...	2007	Hydropower	690	4600
Krafla Krafla Power Station The Krafla Power Station is a geothermal power station located near the Krafla Volcano inIceland. Since 1999, it produces 60 MW of energy.-History:The following list shows the development timeline of the power station since 1974:...	1977	Geothermal	60	480
Bjarnarflag	1969	Geothermal	3	18
Straumsvík	1969	Natural-gas fired	17

Subsidiaries

Landsvirkjun has five subsidiaries. Landsnet (64.73% of shares is owned by Landsvirkjun) is the transmission system operator

Transmission system operator

File:Electricity grid simple- North America.svg|thumb|380px|right|Simplified diagram of AC electricity distribution from generation stations to consumersrect 2 243 235 438 Power stationrect 276 317 412 556 Transformer...

of Icelandic high-voltage electricity grid. Landsvirkjun Power designs and construct geothermal and hydropower stations for Landsvirkjun and power systems for Landsnet. Fjarski provides telecommunication services while Icelandic Power Insurance handles the insurance and re-insurance of Landsvirkjun's power stations. Þeistareykir; its purpose is to research the geothermal area in Þeistareykir.