Laxá II Power Station was commissioned on 10 October 1953. It is located in Laxárdalur, northeast Iceland.
Laxá II Power Station harnesses the lower head in the same canyon as Laxá I Power Station. The river is dammed approximately 300 metres downstream from the Laxá I powerhouse, and water is conveyed through a wooden penstock to a surge tank before continuing through a steel penstock to the powerhouse.
The waterway is approximately 380 metres long, with a head of 29 metres. The station is equipped with a single 9 MW generating unit.
Laxá I was the first power station built on the Laxá River and was commissioned in 1939. Electricity generation ceased in 2013 after the station’s wooden penstock reached the end of its service life.
The station harnessed the upper part of the Brúar falls. Water was conveyed from a dam at the top of the canyon through tunnels and a canal to the powerhouse. The development had a head of 39 metres and an installed capacity of 5 MW.
Although no longer in operation, the station remains an important part of the history of electricity generation in the Laxá area. The original turbine units, commissioned in 1939 and 1944, are still in place and have been preserved.
