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At 193 metres (633 ft) tall and 730 metres (2,400 ft) long, the Kárahnjúkar Dam is the largest dam in the project and the largest of its type in Europe as well.
Learn about the largest dam in Europe and its role in powering Alcoa’s aluminium smelter in Northeast Iceland. See the stunning views of the Jökulsá river canyon and the two tuff peaks of Kárahnjúkar.
Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant, officially called Fljótsdalur Power Station is a hydroelectric power plant in Fljótsdalshérað municipality in eastern Iceland, ...
- 2 min
- 5,9K
- Car Rental Iceland
- Introduction
- Operational Overview
- Contested Development
- Environmental Impact Overview
- Profit and Loss
- Abuses of Power
- Conclusion
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Known for its rugged terrain, Iceland’s landscape is characterized by active volcanoes, breathtaking glaciers, and majestic waterfalls flowing into crystal blue rivers. These natural treasures are promoted as valuable parts of an interconnected, dynamic, and energetic system that is intrinsically linked to Icelandic culture and history. Glaciers, a...
Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Project
Construction of the Kárahnjúkar Hydropower Plant (in Icelandic: Kárahnjúkavirkjun), also known as Fljótsdalur Power Station (in Icelandic: Fljótsdalsstöð) began its design and assessment phase in 2002, with construction completed in 2009. It was named after the nearby Kárahnjúkar mountains and involved damming two glacial rivers—Jökulsá á Dal and Jökulsá í Fljótsdal—with five dams to form three reservoirs. Both the dams and the power plant are owned and operated by Landsvirkjun, Iceland’s nat...
The Alcoa Fjarðaál Aluminum Smelter
Smelting aluminum is the process of separating aluminum from its oxide, alumina, which is derived from bauxite ore. Smelters require a tremendous amount of electricity as they use a major industrial electrolytic process to produce aluminum, and so are ideally located near large power stations that can provide inexpensive energy, and next to ports that provide easy access for ore or alumina imports and for exports of aluminum metal and products. Alcoa is a Pittsburgh-based industrial corporati...
Even though it is widely acknowledged that dams result in significant environmental tradeoffs, hydropower is often considered one of the best available, if not perfect, responses to human-induced climate change, at least according to the canons of commerce and industry. Dissonant perspectives about technological development, nature, and human-natur...
The Kárahnjúkar project is located within what was, prior to construction, the second largest unspoiled wilderness in Europe. The direct area estimated to be adversely affected by the power plant is 3,000 km2—or 3% of Iceland’s total land mass.31This estimate does not include other impacted areas, such as landowners that are now having to cope with...
Hydropower is one of the fastest-growing renewable sources in the world, with a global annual growth rate of 2.4 percent in 2019 (Bairstow, 2019; Hydropower Status Report, 2020). Hydroelectric power provides around 17 percent of global electricity. Many countries aside from Iceland, including China, Brazil, and Russia, rely on it to a significant d...
Environmental ethics a prescriptive endeavor that lies at the intersection of two questions: 1. To what parts of the natural world should intrinsic value be attributed (that is, beyond use or instrumental value)? 2. What is morally important, and why?74 75 76 The ethical dilemmas that Kárahnjúkar / Alcoa present interlace with corruption among publ...
Most renewable technologies have a profound impact on the landscape. Depending on the energy density of the source, the extent of impact varies. ‘New landscapes of carbon-neutrality’ are not automatically embraced by all societal sectors. Iceland’s use of hydropower at Kárahnjúkar involved reconfiguring economic, political, and social patterns. It ...
Learn about the largest hydropower project in Iceland, built to supply electricity for an aluminum smelter. Explore the environmental and economic impacts, controversies, and challenges of this venture.
The Kárahnjúkastífla Dam is the centerpiece of the five dams and the largest of its type in Europe, standing 193 metres (633 ft) tall with a length of 730 metres (2,400 ft) and comprising 8.5 million cubic metres (300×106 cu ft) of material.
Kárahnjúkar is the largest construction project in Icelandic history and the most significant electricity production in the country. It is also a great destination for outdoor activities, such as hiking, waterfall viewing and road trips.
The Kárahnjúkar area is ideal for outdoor activities. It is fun to see the Kárahnjúkar Dam itself and the Hálslón Reservoir. When Hálslón fills up and overflows, the Hverfandi waterfall appears at the western end of the dam, where the water plunges about 100 meters into Hafrahvammahljúfur.
