A joint venture of three Iceland companies is providing consulting engineering to help utility Landsvirkjun develop three hydroelectric projects on Iceland’s lower Thjorsa River.
The joint venture of VST hf., VGK Honnun hf., and Rafteikning hf. received a contract worth 1.37 billion kronur (US$19.1 million).
They are to provide tender design and preparation of tender documents, detail design of civil works, and design review of electro-mechanical works of the three projects to be built downstream from the 270-MW Burfell hydro project in southern Iceland. (HNN 12/22/06) Work began in June 2007 and be completed in June 2012.
The three run-of-river projects include:
o Hvammur, 80 MW, including three kilometers of waterways, a concrete weir, 3.5-kilometer dyke, and a shaft-type powerhouse containing an 80-MW vertical Francis or Kaplan turbine. The plant would have a maximum flow of 300 cubic meters per second, a head of 32 meters, and average annual generation of 620 gigawatt-hours;
o Holt, 50 MW, described as a second stage of the Hvammur development, featuring short artificial waterways, an intake pond, and a powerhouse with two vertical Kaplan turbines. It would have a maximum flow of 310 cms, a head of 18 meters, and average annual generation of 390 GWh; and
o Urridafoss, 125 MW, including a 4.3-kilometer dyke and reservoir, short underground penstocks, 3-kilometer tailrace tunnel, and an underground powerhouse with two vertical Kaplan units. It would have a design flow of 320 cms, a head of 42 meters, and average annual generation of 960 GWh.
