The story of Reykjavík Energy

Orkuveitan is adopting a new strategy, focus, logo, and values, along with a new name. In line with new strategic priorities for a sustainable future, Orkuveitan is getting a new look. Forward-thinking, an even greater emphasis on innovation, sustainability, and collaboration. The rebranding of the trademark is based on the new strategy and is intended to reflect it. Orkuveitan is a fundamental force and a driver that provides energy to ambitious customers and society as a whole. The Orkuveitan logo symbolizes these constant movements.

Carbfix ohf. began operations as a subsidiary of Orkuveita Reykjavíkur at the beginning of the year. The carbon capture and disposal project of the same name has been developed and subsequently operated at the Hellisheiði Power Station since 2007. The company's goal is to make the Carbfix method as widely accessible as possible in the fight against the climate crisis.

After operating under the Ljósleiðarinn brand for the last seven years, the name of Gagnaveita Reykjavíkur has been formally changed to Ljósleiðarinn.

The almost six-year plan by Orkuveitan and the company's owners to restore the company's finances after the setbacks of the 2008 economic collapse in Iceland will conclude at the end of the year. The plan is called Plan and delivers 20% better results than originally planned.

In ten years, you managed to secure one of the most powerful networks in the world for the city's residents: the fiber optic network.

According to a 2024 report from the Electronic Communications Office of Iceland, Iceland is at the forefront when it comes to high-speed internet connections.

Orkuveitan split up by law and the subsidiaries The Power of Nature, which is responsible for the production and sale of electricity, and Utilities, which operate water, heating, electricity and sewage utilities, see the light of day.

Orkuveitan will be the first energy company to have an approved ownership policy. It was unanimously approved by all three municipal councils of the owners.

In December 2010, the first phase of the district heating system from the Hellisheiði Power Plant will be commissioned. Increased production of hot water for district heating is one of the primary reasons for the construction of the Hellisheiði Power Plant.

Gagnaveita was established as a division within Orkuveita on 1 January 2005 but was converted into a limited company on 1 January 2007. Gagnaveita's customers, which owns and operates The Optical Fiber, are both businesses and households in the utility areas of Orkuveitan.

Through agreements with the owners of Orkuveitan, the company assumes the statutory role of the municipalities to build and operate sewerage systems. Major improvements to the sewerage systems are ongoing, in line with modern demands.

The geothermal area of the Hellisheiði Power Station is south of Mount Hengill. The capacity of the first phase is 90 MW; when fully developed, it can reach around 300 MW in electricity and 400 MW in thermal power.

The district heating utilities of Akranes and Borgarbyggð will merge with Orkuveitan (Reykjavik Energy), and the residents of Akranes will also contribute their electricity utility and the Andakílsá power plant to Orkuveitan. Established are Act on the Establishment of a PartnershipThe City of Reykjavík owns 92.22% of the company, the Municipality of Akranes 5.45%, the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður 0.94%, Borgarbyggð 0.75%, Garðabær 0.47%, and Borgarfjarðarsveit 0.17%. This will soon change. Garðabær and the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður will be leaving. the ownership group and Borgarbyggð and Borgarfjarðarsveit merge.

Orkuveitan's operational area for water utilities is mostly in the capital region but also in many places in South and West Iceland.

On January 1, 1999, Reykjavik Energy was founded with the aim of merging the electricity, heating, and water utilities into one powerful entity.

In the coming years, the electricity distribution will reach more than half of the country's population in Reykjavík, Kópavogur, Mosfellsbær, Akranes, and Garðabær. The district heating system is the largest geothermal district heating system in the world, and its largest water sources are the Nesjavellir and Hellisheiði power plants.

Orkuveitan soon also introduced plans for a fourth utility – a data utility that would use fiber optics for data transmission.

The first wastewater treatment plant at Ánanaust has been put into operation, and it will process wastewater from 57% of Reykjavík's residents.

New regulation on food control takes effect. For the first time, water utilities are defined as food businesses.

The history of fiber optics in Iceland dates back to the 1980s when Póstur og sími (Post and Telecom) began the digitalization of its telephone exchanges. In the mid-1980s, the company started laying the first fiber optic cables, although exclusively for internal use between its exchanges. At the time, fiber optics were considered an expensive and complex solution, and not deemed viable for public use. But that was about to change.

Perlan, a viewing platform and restaurant on top of the water tanks on Öskjuhlíð, is opened. Perlan connects and rests on top of six hot water tanks, each of which holds 4 million litres of hot water. It is a steel-frame building, but the steel frame has another role to play than connecting the hot water tanks and forms a dome roof.

The Nesjavellir geothermal power station was commissioned in 1990, where groundwater is heated and transported to the Capital Region. It now produces 120 MW of electricity and 300 MW of thermal energy.

In 1984, the last open water source in the Capital Region was decommissioned, and today all water comes from closed boreholes, which further ensures the water's safety against contamination.

The origins of district heating in Borgarfjörður can be traced back to the 1960s when geothermal measurements began in the area. After unsuccessful attempts by the people of Borgarfjörður and Akranes in the early years, a preliminary study of Deildartunguhver revealed that it would be economical to utilize its heat for a district heating system. The hot spring is the most powerful in Iceland and all of Europe. The district heating utility was formally established in 1979 at Hvanneyri.

The registration of residents without electricity in official figures has been discontinued, and Iceland is therefore considered to be fully electrified.

98% of Reykjavík's residents are connected to the District Heating Utility. From this point on, all new neighbourhoods are connected to district heating from day one. Oil heating for houses in Reykjavík is a thing of the past, just as the so-called oil crisis hits the world with massively increased oil prices.

The beach in Nauthólsvík is closed due to pollution. It reopened in the year 2000 after a major effort in sewage management.

The City of Reykjavík purchases the Nesjavellir farm for geothermal energy utilization. Utilization began in 1990 when hot water production started at the Nesjavellir Power Plant.

The state and the City of Reykjavík purchase the “steam drill,” which revolutionizes all geothermal energy utilization, in both low- and high-temperature areas. In the following decades, the steam drill is used to obtain more hot water by reactivating the low-temperature areas in Laugarnes, Reykir, and Reykjahlíð, and drilling with it had begun in Elliðaárdalur.

The City of Reykjavík is purchasing the Kolviðarhóll property with geothermal utilization in mind. This will not begin until 2006 when the Hellisheiði Power Station becomes operational.

Reykjavik Power Company and Statistics Iceland jointly purchase IBM punch card machines. The beginning of the computer age in Iceland.

Construction begins on the Írafoss Power Station in the Sog river. At the same time, preparations are underway for a fertilizer factory in Gufunes to utilize part of the energy. The power station is inaugurated in 1953, and Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, President of Iceland, delivers a speech at the ceremony.

The state, the City of Reykjavík and Hafnarfjörður begin geothermal research in Hengill. It is believed that the energy is sufficient, but the drilling technology is not yet available.

Andakílsárvirkjun power plant is commissioned. Operation begins at Andakílsárvirkjun in October 1947. The power plant replaces the engine-driven power stations that had been used in both Akranes and Borgarnes and the nearby rural areas. The harnessing of the river was completed in 1974 when a new turbine unit was put into operation. The total production capacity is 8 MW.

The Ljósafoss Power Station in the Sog river is commissioned. Most of the energy is used to power the Rafha stoves that everyone wants to own. 

Sogsstöðvar is the collective name for three hydroelectric power stations on the River Sog, which were built by the City of Reykjavík and the Icelandic government to secure electricity for Reykjavík and for the South and West of Iceland. Ljósafossstöð was the first to be built, followed by Írafossstöð and Steingrímsstöð.

Austurbæjarskóli school and a few houses on Bergþórugata are the first buildings in Reykjavík to be heated with water from the Þvottalaugar hot springs, the so-called Laugaveita utility. By 1937, the district heating system was connected to 58 houses.

In 1928, the first borehole was drilled at the Laugarnar hot springs in Reykjavík, which had been used for washing clothes for decades. The drilling increased the water flow to the surface, reaching 14 litres per second of 87°C hot water.

The operation of the Reykjavík Electric Company begins.

At the end of 1919, the Reykjavík town council decided to have a 1000-horsepower power plant built at the Elliðaár river. Construction of the power plant was completed in the spring of 1921, and the station was inaugurated on June 27 of the same year. The electricity is transmitted via an overhead line to a main substation on Skólavörðuholt, which was then on the outskirts of the town. From there, the electricity is distributed through underground cables to eight transformer substations in the town.

The water is first sourced from the Elliðaár rivers and later from Gvendarbrunnar.

In 1908, work began on laying water pipes throughout the town of Reykjavík, and Reykjavík Water Works was formally established on June 16, 1909. Water was released into the town 'for a trial' from the Elliðaá rivers. However, the inaugural day of the water utility in Reykjavík is generally considered to be October 2, 1909, when the pipeline from Gvendarbrunnar was put into service. With these developments, the residents of Reykjavík gained easy access to an abundance of clean water, and it wasn't long before their water consumption multiplied.

A closed sewer pipe is laid from Landakot Hospital down to the sea. It is connected to a large well that was built for the hospital. This is the first sewer system in Reykjavík; before this, sewage ran in open channels along the main streets down to the sea, into the Pond (Tjörnin), or the Stream (Lækurinn). Knud Zimsen, who later became mayor, manages the construction. The pipe, which is made of clay, is still in use in 2017 but has been lined using modern technology.