|
In
1906, the Engineer General, Thorvald Krabbe, researched the
possibilities for electrical lightning in the Seydisfiord Area. On
February 29th 1908,
he attended the council meeting at Seydisfiord, where he handed over two
proposals from Copenhagen for the construction of a hydroelectric power
station on River Fjardara.
On
October 15th 1912,
the council decided for the offer from Siemens-Schuckert in
Copenhagen.
This company sought assistance from its mother company in Berlin,
where a young, Icelandic electrical engineer, Gudmundur Hliddal, worked,
and he was sent to Iceland to oversee the project.
The construction work started in the spring 1913. A dam was
constructed just
above farm Fjardarsel. From there a 500 m long pipeline was laid
to the power
station house.
The steel pipe was 46 cm in diameter, and the drop was 51,5 m. A
75 Hp AC generator was installed. The 3,000 Volts discharged from
the power station were reduced to 208 Volts for domestic use and 120
Volts for lightning. Five voltage regulators were installed for
the small town. This was the first high voltage AC system of the
country.
On
October 13th 1913,
the electrical lights were turned on in the town. Five days later the
town’s people celebrated and expressed their gratitude for the good
work. In 1924, a new 75 Hp generator was installed. The original
generator was restored in 1933, and the high voltage grid was extended
to the Fjardarstrond Area.
In
winter water shortage during extremely cold spells was a problem, which
increased with the increased demand. In 1946, another dam was built at Lake
Heidarvatn to increase the water reserves, and the capacity of the power
station was increased. The dam elevated the water level by 3 metres and
increased the lake’s volume by 1,7 million cubic metres. In 1954, a 30
Kilovolt, 20 km long grid was built to connect the town Egilsstadir with
the power station. When the hydroelectric power station was built on
River Grimsa, both power stations became parts of the East Iceland
Electrical Works. Rarik bought the Seydisfiord Electrical Works on
January 9th 1957,
and overtook the operation in 1958. The capacity of The Fjardarsel
Power Plant is 160 kW.
In 2006 the enlargement project of the power
plant was commenced. |