Minister for the Environment Svandís Svavarsdóttir described affairs connected with the plans of Landsvirkjun, the national power company, to construct a geothermal power plant in Bjarnarflag near Lake Mývatn in Northeast Iceland, to be at a sensitive stage.

Lake Mývatn. Photo by Páll Stefánsson.

Svandís expressed her wish that Landsvirkjun halt operations in the area while the framework agreement on Bjarnarflag is still being discussed; a valuable area is at stake, ruv.is reports.

Álfheiður Ingadóttir, MP for the Left-Greens, agrees. She commented at Alþingi, the parliament, on Tuesday that there was an unspoken agreement on state-run companies not taking action in such projects until the parliament complete its framework agreement on energy harnessing, Fréttablaðið reports.

The Icelandic Federation of Labor (ASÍ) criticized the work methods of the coalition parties yesterday, reasoning that it is unacceptable that the government request that high-ranking officials and directors of institutions don’t work according to the current law.

That, in effect, means ceasing operations and putting extensive investments on ice, which is irresponsible given the high unemployment rate, ASÍ concludes.

Environmentalists have protested the operations in Bjarnarflag.

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ESA