Over 80% of electricity in Iceland is generated in hydroelectric power stations. While geothermal energy is used for heating (and increasingly for electricity generation), 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 far is Kárahnjúkavirkjun (690 MW), which generates electricity in the area north of Vatnajökull for the production of aluminum.
Other projects and stations include:
- Blöndustöð generates 150 MW
- Búrfellsstöð generates 270 MW
- Hrauneyjafosstöð generates 210 MW
- Laxárstöðvar, on the Laxá River, generates 28 MW
- Sigöldustöð generates 150 MW
- Sogsstöðvar generates 89 MW
- Sultartangastöð generates 120 MW
- Vatnsfellsstöð generates 90 MW
Famous quotes containing the words power and/or stations:
“We who didn’t inherit political power nor are made to acquire riches like nothing better than that which expands and solidifies the power of the spirit.”
—Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (1749–1832)
“I can’t quite define my aversion to asking questions of strangers. From snatches of family battles which I have heard drifting up from railway stations and street corners, I gather that there are a great many men who share my dislike for it, as well as an equal number of women who ... believe it to be the solution to most of this world’s problems.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)