November 22, 2010
Europe

Windmills considered viable option for Iceland

Iceland Review Online, www.icelandreview.com 22 November 2010

Landsvirkjun, the national power company, has plans to harness wind power for electricity production in Iceland. A task force was recently appointed to evaluate which areas are suitable for wind power plants and the initial conclusions show that the lowland in south Iceland may be the best location for such operations.

Úlfar Linnet, a specialist in energy scouting at Landsvirkjun and a member of the task force, told Fréttabladid that the final conclusions of the research can be expected in about one year.

“We are conducting all the basic work which needs to be done before operations can begin,” Linnet said. “Extensive research is necessary and it is important that we are successful because we were at the absolute starting point when we started working on this.”

Basic research strongly indicates that there is a stable enough wind in Iceland for harnessing its energy.

The general rule is that windmills shut down at a wind power of 25 meters per second and Linnet said such scenarios are rare in Iceland.

The lowland in south Iceland is being considered because the wind is steady there and squalls uncommon, Linnet explained.

The lowest windmills used for power plants abroad are 70 meters high, around the same height as Hallgrímskirkja, the Reykjavík landmark church. The tallest windmills can reach 198 meters when the blade is in the top position.

URL to article:  https://www.wind-watch.org/news/2010/11/22/windmills-considered-viable-option-for-iceland/