The Hellisheiði Power Station (Hellisheiðarvirkjun, ˈhɛtlɪsˌheiːðarˌvɪr̥cʏn) is the eighth-largest geothermal power station in the world and largest in Iceland. The facility is located in Hengill, southwest Iceland, from the Nesjavellir Geothermal Power Station. The plant has a capacity of 303 MW of electricity and 400 MWth of hot water for Reykjavik's district heating. The power station is owned and operated by ON Power, a subsidiary of Reykjavík Energy.
Electricity production with two 45 MW turbines commenced in 2006. In 2007, an additional low pressure steam turbine of 33 MW was added. In 2008, two 45 MW turbines were added with steam from Skarðsmýrarfjall Mountain. The hot water plant was introduced in 2010 and the last two high pressure 45 MW turbines were added in 2011.
In order to reduce hydrogen sulphide pollution in the capital area a system was added to the plant in 2014 which reinjects non-condensable gases into the ground.
In 2016 the operator, ON, announced a program of new drilling to deal with falling steam levels which had first become apparent in 2013. The program was expected in 2017 to cost 19 billion Icelandic crowns to maintain a steady electric output.
The power plant offers educational tours and presentations about sustainable energy as part of its Geothermal Energy Exhibition.
A pilot direct air capture facility operated by Climeworks is co-located at this site. It was partially funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 program, and captures up to 4000 metric tons of carbon dioxide each year. The carbon dioxide is captured, injected into the ground, and mineralized.
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Carbfix is an Icelandic company that has developed an approach to capturing and storing CO2 in water, and its injection into subsurface basalts. Once in the subsurface, the injected CO2 reacts with the host rock forming stable carbonate minerals, thus providing storage of the captured gas. Approximately 200 tons of CO2 were injected into subsurface basalts in 2012. Research results published in 2016 showed that 95% of the injected CO2 was solidified into calcite within 2 years, using 25 tons of water per tonne of CO2.