6 h

About this activity

Thanks to its position on a volatile section of the Mid-Atlantic ridge, Iceland is a world leader in the use of geothermal energy.

Of the six geothermal power plants in Iceland, Hellisheiði (pronounced “het-li-shay-thee”) is the newest and largest. Hellisheiði Power Plant is situated in the Hengill area in South West Iceland and provides electricity and hot water for space heating in the industrial and domestic sectors in Iceland.

To access the potential energy under the surface, wells are drilled thousands of meters into the ground, penetrating reservoirs of pressurized water. Heated by the Earth’s energy, this water can be more than 300°C in temperature, and when released it boils up from the well, turning partly to steam on its way. At Hellisheiði, the steam is separated from the water to power some of the plant’s seven turbines, while the remaining water is further depressurized to create more steam, used to power other turbines. At its maximum output the station can produce 303MW of electricity, making it one of the largest single unit power plants in the world.