Past years
Sunnlensk orka Ltd. was established in August 1999 and its aim is to explore the possibility to build up a geothermal power plant in Grændalur geothermal area in South Iceland.
In 1999 Sunnlensk orka Ltd. took over the research license RARIK got earlier that year and began research work in the 11 km2 area for three years.
The company’s request of drilling trial boreholes together with a road construction into the Grændalur valley was declined by the Icelandic National Planning Agency and later the Minister of Environment in 2001. Permission was given to drill just outside the valley and in the northernmost part of the research area.
Around 1960 eight shallow boreholes were drilled nearby Hveragerði some of them have been harnessed but others have never been used. In 2003 Sunnlensk orka hired VGK Engineering to make a feasibility study with the intention of harnessing the geothermal energy there. The projects report says that the power generating capacity of the boreholes around 10 MWe.
In 2008 an observation was made for Sunnlensk orka of producing electricity with units that can be integrated in a better way to the landscape in Ölfusdalur and it seems that this solution can also be more profitable.
New research license
Sunnlensk orka Ltd. applied for a new research license for the area in February 2006, based on a research plan that was formulated from the environmental assessment from 2000 and 2001 and later researches. This application was denied in July 2007 because of the ongoing work on the report for the Second edition of Rammaáætlun (The Icelandic Master Plan for Hydro and Geothermal Energy Resources) which was not completed.
Sunnlensk orka Ltd. applied again for a research license in September 2010. It was not deemed necessary to drill nearby Dalaskarðshnúkur therefore Sunnlensk orka changed the application and cutted down the originally desired area. On May 10th 2011 Orkustofnun (The National Energy Authority) approved the application and granted a research license for seven years in and near Grændalur
This research license provides Sunnlensk orka unrestricted access to the research area, but the company is obligated to ensure that construction does not cause people, property or livestock any danger or harm. Furthermore Sunnlensk orka is not to cause any pollution or damage to the ecosystem of the valley.
It is planned to start with the surface explorations and then to drill one or two boreholes just south of the valley. These boreholes should provide information about the temperature of the geothermal system, water pressure, leakage and strata alteration in 800 – 1000m depth. The explorations will show whether the concept model of the geothermal system in Grændalur is accurate and if it is practical to build up a geothermal power plant so energy can be used for local industry. Positive results will provide the basis for making long-term plan for using the geothermal area as a power resource. It is believed that it is possible to produce up to 120 MWe of electricity in the area.
If a geothermal power plant is a good option for the area it will be built up in phases where the effects of each phase will assess the capacity and characteristics of the geothermal system in more detail. The response of the system will determine the decision on the next phase.
