Sigalda Power Plant ( ; "Sigalda station" ) is an electric generating plant located in the southern

Highlands of Iceland The Highland (Icelandic language, Icelandic: ''Hálendið)'' or The Central Highland is an area that comprises much of the interior land of Iceland. The Highland is situated above and is mostly uninhabitable. The soil is primarily volcanic as ...

near

Þórisvatn Þórisvatn (; sometimes anglicized to Thorisvatn) is the largest lake of Iceland, situated at the south end of the Sprengisandur plateau within the highlands of Iceland. It is a reservoir with a surface area of about and is fed by the river ...

. It is the biggest

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, located around 160 km east from

Reykjavík Reykjavík is the Capital city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

, among Hrauneyjalón and Krókslón reservoirs. It was officially launched early 1978. This power plant is the newest of six other hydroelectric plants ( Búrfell, Búðarháls, Vatnsfell, Sultartangi, Hrauneyjafoss). Its construction was quick. It created demand for more hydropower plants to meet electricity needs in the country. Sigalda with

Tungnaá The Tungnaá () is a river in the southern Highlands of Iceland. It flows from the western edge of Vatnajökull to the reservoir Sultartangalón, where it joins the Þjórsá. The river has been used extensively for hydroelectricity, with power ...

river is at the top of the canyon on Sigalda hill.

Design

Construction of the Sigalda Hydroelectric Power Station began in 1978, and included three 50-MW turbines. The Sigalda Station is linked into the national grid with 220 kV transmission lines to the Sultartangi, Hrauneyjafoss and Vatnsfell Stations, as well as a 132-kV line to southeast Iceland. Together the installed capacity measures 150 MW and is able to produce 650 gWh p.a. with a flow rate of 230 m³/s. Sigalda Dam dams the

River at the top of the canyon above Sigalda Hill, where it forms Krókslón, a 14 km2 reservoir. The rock-fill dam is 925 m long, clad with asphalt, and 40 m tall at its highest point. The water is carried 1 km through an intake canal from Krókslón Reservoir to the western edge of Sigalda Hill. Three pressure shafts, 216 m long and 4.3 m in diameter, run to the powerhouse north of the old riverbed, in part buried inside the Sigalda hillside. The harnessed head is 74 m. A 550 m tailrace canal leads from the powerhouse into the Hrauneyjafoss Reservoir.

External links

Sigalda Power Station
{{coord, 64.1732, -19.1270, type:landmark_region:IS, display=title Hydroelectric power stations in Iceland