Iceland High Frequency Uninterruptible Power Supply Plant

The National Power Company (Landsvirkjun) is the largest producer of electricity, which pro- duction amount to 12469 GWh or 75% of the total, followed by Reykjavik Energy, which production is 2138 GWh or 12% of the total. The third company, HS Orka, produces 1431 GWh corresponding to 9% of the total national production.

We operate fourteen hydropower stations, three geothermal power stations and two wind turbines for research purposes in five operating areas in Iceland. In operating power stations, emphasis is placed on a holistic vision, where prudence, reliability and harmony of the operations with environment and society are the guiding principles.

If Iceland experienced a non-served energy supply, existing secondary energy would be equal to around 147GWh (0.9% of industrial demand), and non-served energy would be approximately 30GWh. This would not only include buyback energy. Iceland would experience severe curtailments, around 50GWh, one out of eighteen years.

In contrast, it is suggested to discard the installation of gas power plants in Iceland. The Icelandic system seems less secure, more expensive, more polluting, and more dependent on a foreign fuel source when installing these plants than when building the Blönduveituvirkjun power plant.

There could be capacity problems in Iceland, not only related to energy, in the future. The reasons are twofold: first, if transmission expansion is not properly addressed, and second, due to the role of geothermal plants within this system and the potential penetration of wind generation.

The Icelandic national government and regulators should be proactive in ensuring that their citizens and the companies functioning in Iceland have acceptable levels of electricity security of supply.