 River Lagarfljot discharges
glacier shout Eyjabakkajokull, where it is called Jokulsa in
valley Fljotsdalur. It spills into the 52 km long lake
Logurinn and changes its name to Lagarfljot. It has
many run off tributaries, i.e. Eyvindara, Keldua, and Grimsa
from the east, and Bessastadaa and Ranga from the north.
Lake Logurinn works as a reservois and stabilizes the
running volume. Upriver from waterfall Lagarfoss its
discharge area is about 2800 km2 and the average volume about 115 m3/sec.
At the end of the seventies, most of the electricity in the
Eastfjords was generated by diesel engines and the price of
oil was high. The power plant was expected to reduce the deficit and
therefore considered an important project for consumers all
over the country.
The construction work started in
the spring of 1971. In 1972, a 480 m long access
channel for the pressure pipeline and power plant house was
excavated. Simultaneously a salmon ladder was built.
A 100 m long and 10 m high soil dam was built above
waterfall Lagarfoss. The construction work was
finished during the summer of 1974 and the installation of
the generators later the same year. Electrical
production started on March 4th. The power plant is
remotely controlled from PP Grimsarvirkjun. The
Lagarfoss PP is Iceland State Electricity's largest with a
capacity of 7500 kW and annual 60 GWh. |
Source: RARIK website 2004
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