Reykjanesvirkjun

Background

History & Background

Reykjanesvirkjun began operation in 2006 and was developed as a 100 MW geothermal power station by HS Orka. The Power Plant Earth educational exhibition opened inside the station in 2008 and operated for years as a public education facility. HS Orka reported in 2026 that the exhibition had been closed several years earlier. The power station continues to operate as important energy infrastructure on the Reykjanes Peninsula.

Reykjanesvirkjun is a major geothermal power station operated by HS Orka on the southwestern Reykjanes Peninsula. The plant began producing electricity in 2006 and has an installed capacity of 100 MW. It taps the high-temperature Reykjanes geothermal system, where seawater-influenced geothermal fluid and steam circulate through hot volcanic rock at depth. The power station is unusual for its coastal cooling system. HS Orka has described deep seawater wells near the shore that supply large volumes of cold seawater for cooling. The plant therefore sits at a direct intersection of volcanic heat, industrial engineering and the Atlantic coast. For many years the station also housed the interactive Orkuverið Jörð, or Power Plant Earth, exhibition. Opened in 2008, it explained geothermal energy, other forms of energy and the solar system. HS Orka confirmed in 2026 that the exhibition had been discontinued several years earlier because it was considered outdated. The site should therefore not be advertised as a currently open visitor exhibition. Reykjanesvirkjun remains an operating industrial facility. General public traffic within HS Orka's work area is prohibited, so travellers should view the station only from legal public roads and viewpoints and must not enter operational or fenced areas. Nearby public attractions such as Gunnuhver, Reykjanesviti and Valahnúkamöl provide safer ways to experience the surrounding geothermal and volcanic landscape.