Landsvirkjun offers the most competitive electricity prices in Europe with long-term contracts at $43MWh.  In comparison, the average spot market rate for electricity in the period between 2010 and 2013 was $66/MWh in the Netherlands, $57/MWh in Scandinavia and $59/MWh in Germany. 

Energy demands have increased rapidly in the last few years and energy prices have reached a historical high worldwide. There are indications that demand will increase worldwide and many European countries are already prepared to pay high energy prices in order to ensure the security of supply.

New customers

Landsvirkjun’s customer base has expanded in the last few years. New industry fields have chosen Iceland as the location for their operations. This is because Iceland offers competitive, long-term energy contracts and the assurance of security of supply.

A new long-term agreement on energy supply was entered into with GMR Recycling ehf and took effect this year. GMR Recycling uses electricity to recycle waste from aluminium plants and other sources. Landsvirkjun will also sell its energy to the German company PCC who intend to construct a metallurgical grade silicon metal production plant at Bakki near Húsavík. Landsvirkjun signed Letters of Intent with regard to the main components of energy contracts with several other companies in 2013.

In 2013, Landsvirkjun sold 13.186 GWh of energy: the highest energy sales in Landsvirkjun’s history.

Energy generation 2013

Hydropower: 12.337 GWh, Geothermal: 500.5 GWh, Wind power: 5.5 GWh Landsvirkjun operates 13 hydropower stations, 2 geothermal stations and two wind turbines, in five areas of operation, all over Iceland. We believe in an integrated approach where prudence, reliability and the harmony of operations with the environment and society, are fundamental to our operations.

Landsvirkjun’s total energy generation for 2013 was 12.843 GWh.  Over 85% of the energy is utilised by energy intensive industry and nearly 15% is utilised by smaller companies and for domestic use. Landsvirkjun generated 12.712 GWh of electrical energy for the Landsnet transmission grid in 2013.  Hydropower generates 96% of the energy and 4% of the energy is generated using geothermal energy.

How much water do we have?

Landsvirkjun generates electricity from renewable energy sources such as hydropower, geothermal energy and wind power. The natural cycle of water is utilised to produce electricity and is therefore dependent on the weather. The hydropower system utilises this natural cycle by collecting the glacial melt in its storage reservoirs to utilise over the winter period. Weather conditions in Iceland are unpredictable but energy consumption is similar between years. This means that much of the water can end up in the spillover of the stations during an average year.

The water inflow to Landsvirkjun’s reservoirs in 2013 was unlike that of previous years. The summer was cold and dry and glacial melt was under average.Reservoirs did not fill in the Þjórsá, Tungnaá and Blanda water catchment areas. The Hálslón Storage Reservoir filled up towards the end of August and remained full for three weeks.

Reservoirs are an effective storage unit for electricity. Landsvirkjun has a storage capacity of 5150 GWh.The highest level reached was 4500 GWh, in 2013.