The steam supply system in Bjarnarflag is a multiple use system, where Landsvirkjun also supplies steam for a small local industrial plan and a local district heating system in the Mývatn/Reykjahlíð village, as well as geothermal brine to the Mývatn nature baths. The power plant utilizes high pressures steam with as simple apparatus as possible, through with sufficient efficiency and reliability for the present application.
The Bjarnarflag geothermal field is located in a well known geothermal area, near Krafla in northern Iceland. Bjarnarflag is a small geothermal station, of the simple back pressure design. The station was built and commissioned in 1969, to cover an eminent lack of electrical power in the area at the time. Bjarnarflag and Krafla have had a turbulent history from the beginning, when volcanic activity jeopardized the operation of Bjarnarflag and the existence of Krafla before it was finished and connected to the network. Nine volcanic eruptions over the 1975-1984 period caused some boreholes to collapse and corrosive vapor to enter the geothermal system in Krafla.
However, the Bjarnarflag plant was operated with only minor overhauls until 2001, when a new turbine rotor and new stationary blades were installed, along with a total refurbishment of all electrical systems, control- and protection systems and instrumentation.
On the refurbishment project in Bjarnarflag, Verkís provided consulting services for all electrical- control- and protection equipment, as well as for civil work. Verkís also conducted all testing and start-up commissioning for the electrical, control and protection equipment.
In 2011, the design work for a new 2×45 MW geothermal power plant in Bjarnarflag was started, with full participation of Verkis. This design work is described in a different leaflet. The new power plant was later postponed and Landsvirkjun decided to conduct a new environmental assessment. When the new plant will be commissioned, it is foreseen to shut down this existing small back pressure power plant.
