How to Make a New Geothermal Power Plant More Environmentally Friendly

Abstract

The Hengill area in SW-Iceland is one of the most extensive geothermal areas in the country. Orkuveita Reykjavíkur (OR) operates two power plants in the Hengill area, Nesjavellir and Hellisheiði, and is planning to build two new power plants in the same area; Hverahlíð and Bitra. OR’s commitment to the environment has motivated a search for measures that will reduce the environmental impact of these new geothermal power plants. These measures include grouping boreholes on drilling sites, adjusting drilling sites to their surroundings, minimize the effect of the steam collection pipelines in the landscape, design the main power house in harmony with its surroundings, using hybrid cooling towers, reducing emission of geothermal gasses and reducing noise level from the power plant.
This paper describes the main ideas for minimizing the effect of a new geothermal power plant on its surroundings.