The Laxá I Station is the oldest power plant in the river Laxá. From the dam at the top of the canyon, the water is first diverted through an underground tunnel and then through a channel approximately 670 m in length, leading to the power station. The station operates two turbine units, coming on-line in 1939 and 1944. For the Laxá II Station, the river is dammed 300 metres below Laxá I, diverting the water 380 metres to the power station via a penstock and a surge tank.
The three Laxá Stations harness a 70 m head on an 1800 m strecth of River Laxá to produce a total of 27.5 MW of electricity. The inflow to Lake Mývatn is mostly underground, through layers of lava, largely immune from seasonal fluctuations and ideal for harnessing hydropower.
Laxá I and II are low head hydro stations that harness the natural flow of River Laxá. Station III, the latest addition, utilizes the same head as Laxá I but runs its water through a tunnel to the power station, 60 metres inside the rock. The town of Akureyri and the Icelandic Government built the Laxá Stations which joined Landsvirkjun in 1983.
| Vatnasvið: | 1.550 km2 |
| Meðalrennsli til virkjana: | 43 m3/s |
| Fallhæð | |
|---|---|
| Laxá I: | 39 m |
| Laxá II: | 29 m |
| Laxá III: | 39 m |
| Afl | |
| Laxá I: | 5 MW |
| Laxá II: | 9 MW |
| Laxá III: | 13,5 MW |
| Orkuframleiðsla: | 180 GWst á ári |
| Lengd jarðganga í Laxá III | |
| Vatnsvegir: | 850 m |
| Þjónustugöng: | 190 m |
| Hönnun | |
| Laxá I: | Árni Pálsson, verkfræðingur |
| Laxá II og III: | Verkfræðistofa Sigurðar Thoroddsen hf. |
| Helstu verktakar | |
| Laxá I: | Højgaard og Schultz, Danmörku |
| Laxá II: | Stoð hf. (Laxá II) |
| Laxá III: | Norðurverk haf. (Laxá III) |
| Framleiðendur hverfla og rafala | |
| Laxá I, vél 1: | Kværner Brug, Noregi (hverfill) |
| A/s Titan, Danmörku (rafali) | |
| Laxá I, vél 2: | James Leffel & Co, Bandaríkjunum (hverfill) |
| Westinghouse, Bandaríkjunum (rafali) | |
| Laxá II: | James Leffel & Co, Bandaríkjunum (hverfill) |
| Westinghouse, Bandaríkjunum (rafali) | |
| Laxá III: | Escher Wyss, Þýskalandi (hverfill) |
| ASEA, Svíðþjóð (rafali | |