Reykjavík Grapevine - Dec 2021, Page 30

Icelandic winter entices for many
reasons. There are ice caves, snowy
mountains and long, dark nights full
of stars and Aurora. But there is an-
other category of beauty and intrigue
with a unique premise: power sta-
tions.
Iceland’s iconic geology is a source
of breathtaking vistas; but it’s also
what fuels the whole country. There
are a number of interesting – even
pretty – power plants within a short
distance from Reykjavík. We found
that linking them together into a day
trip was the ideal way to get a sense of
Iceland’s power development, from an
emerging economy after the Second
World War, to its current position at
the forefront of cutting-edge technol-
ogy.
Take the high road
First stop was Nesjavellir, the second-
largest geothermal power plant in
Iceland. During the summer months,
Nesjavallavegur mountain pass is
open and accessible to most vehicles,
and makes for a spectacular drive to
the station. But in winter the road is
closed and inadvisable to all but high
clearance, 4WD vehicles and experi-
enced drivers.
Luckily I had both at my disposal,
and we made it through, despite a cou-
ple of heart-racing moments when the
snow drifts were a little higher than
I was comfortable with. We were re-
warded by a postcard-perfect view
of glistening !ingvellir with steam
clouds rising from Nesjavellir below.
Water, water everywhere
From there it was only a short drive to
Ljósafoss. The oldest hydropower sta-
tion in the Sogi" river, it was built in
1937 to meet the growing demand for
power from Reykjavík, whose popula-
tion was booming at the time. Turns
out Icelanders have been harnessing
the power of the natural landscape
long before it was cool.
Ljósafoss hosts a small and engag-
ing visitor centre with lots of fun in-
teractive exhibits for wee ones. The
staff were delighted to show us around
and patiently tolerated my attempts to
pronounce things in Icelandic.
With the sun as high as it was going
to get on this short winter’s day, it was
time for a hike. In keeping with our
steam-powered theme, the obvious
spot was Hverager"i. Famous for its
geothermal activity, the river Varmá
runs through and heats the many
greenhouses dotting the landscape.
We stopped at Almar Bakari to fuel
up on their lava-bread sandwiches,
before setting off up Reykjadalur val-
ley towards the hot river, admiring
the juxtaposition of snow and steam.
Parts of the path are steep and require
good boots, in particular in winter
where sneaky ice patches can be your
literal downfall.
The river is warm year round and
plenty of folk were enjoying the bath-
like temperatures. As tempting as it
was to join them, the sky was already
tinged with pink and we had one more
stop to make. Somewhat reluctantly,
we headed back.
A bright future
Our last destination was Hellishei"i
Power Plant. On the main road just
outside of the city (if you’ve ever driven
Route 1 south from Reykjavík, you’ve
passed it), many people don’t realise
what a fascinating place this is and
miss the opportunity to visit. Not only
is Hellishei"i the biggest geothermal
power plant in Iceland, it’s the third-
largest in the world, creating 303 MW
of electricity.
Wandering through the visitor cen-
tre, we took the opportunity to see the
internal workings of the plant from
the viewing platform and learned
about how the site is now involved in
new carbon capture and fixing tech-
nologies. This involves a huge struc-
ture that collects carbon dioxide from
the atmosphere, the largest of its kind
in the world so far. Dwarfed by the
huge fans whirring above us, I felt a
huge sense of relief and gratitude for
the existence of this machine, stead-
fastly consuming the harm we com-
mit to the environment, and storing
it safely away.
We finished our trip as night was
falling, and as streams of car head-
lights flashed past us in the dark, I was
reminded of how dependent we all are
on these power plants and the energy
they consume, in almost every aspect
of our lives. It was reassuring to know
that green energy creation is possible
and practical, and that Iceland is lead-
ing the way in showing how achievable
it is.
Travel distance
from Reykjavík:
130 km
Car provided by:
gocarrental.is
Power Trip
A steamy day trip around Iceland’s hottest power stations
Words: Josie Anne Gaitens Photos: Art Bicnick
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Nesjavallavegur looking glorious
Josie is always pushing our buttons