Búðarháls Power Station

The station is located on the Tungnaá River and takes advantage of the drop between the tail water of the Hrauneyjafoss Power Station and the Sultartangi Reservoir. The head will is 40 metres, with a harnessed discharge of 280 m³/s and an installed capacity of 95 MW. The energy generating capacity of the Station is estimated at 600 GW/h annually.

Energy from Búðarháls Power Station is sent from the generator step up transformers, located in front of the station and then underground to the Landsnet substation, located to the south of the powerhouse. It is transported from the substation, via high voltage line, eastward across Búðarháls to the Hrauneyjar line and onto the National grid.

The Þjórsá and Tungnaá area is home to seven of Landsvirkjun’s hydropower stations: Búðarháls, Búrfell, Búrfell II, Hrauneyjafoss, Sigalda, Sultartangi and Vatnsfell. The area also includes Vaðalda Wind Farm, Iceland’s first wind power plant, as well as Hafið, a wind energy test site with two experimental turbines.

At the heart of the system is Þórisvatn, Iceland’s largest natural lake and the region’s main reservoir. Water collected in the Kvíslaveita diversion system and Hágöngulón flows through Þórisvatn before being used by power stations farther downstream.

The Þórisvatn reservoir system was developed between 1970 and 1972 as part of the expansion of hydropower generation in the area. Its reservoirs, dams, canals and control structures make it possible to store water, regulate flows and optimise energy production throughout the year.

Construction of the Kvíslaveita diversion system began in 1980 and was completed in 1997. The system collects water from tributaries and the upper reaches of the Þjórsá River and diverts it to Þórisvatn.

Hágöngulón was developed between 1997 and 1999 and covers an area of 37 km². It increases the utilisation of water resources in the Kaldakvísl catchment by storing water during the summer months.

Together, Þórisvatn, Kvíslaveita, Hágöngulón and a number of smaller reservoirs form the backbone of the hydropower system in the Þjórsá and Tungnaá area.