The hydroelectric plant at Kárahnjúkar in Iceland’s eastern highlands will start operating today when water from Hálslón dam will be pumped into the first turbine of the Fljótsdalsstöd power station.
The turbine will be driven by 115 megawatts of power, Fréttabladid reports.
According to Sigurdur Arnalds, Kárahnjúkar’s public relations director, the 40-kilometer long tunnel between the dam and the power station has already been filled with water.
Arnalds said the machines are being tested and will be launched one by one until the hydroelectric plant has reached full efficiency levels and more aluminum pots have began operating at the Alcoa Fjardarál smelter in Reydarfjördur, for which Kárahnjúkar will produce electricity.
Click here to watch a multimedia slideshow of when the Kárahnjúkar dam was first put into action September 28, 2006.
