About ten earthquakes of magnitude 2 and greater were recorded in the Hengill area last night. The biggest tremors occurred yesterday, around 7:00 pm and amounted to 3.3 degrees.
The Hellisheiði Power Station announcement stated that the earthquakes had occurred in an area where the geothermal water used at the plant is pumped back into the ground. The quake was felt in Hveragerði and in the capital.
The plant’s personnel is constantly monitoring the development of the situation in cooperation with the Icelandic Meteorological Office. According to experts, the quake had no effect on the power plant’s operation.
The Hellisheiði power plant provides electricity and hot water to the capital area.
The power plant has been producing energy for the capital area for almost 30 years, and a large amount of geothermal water after it is used in the power plant is regularly pumped back into the ground.
This helps to increase the renewable nature of geothermal energy and reduces the environmental impact of the power plant.
The re-pumping of water has already caused earthquakes in the area in the past. This slight seismic activity does not cause any changes in the operation of the power plant. Scientists at Hellisheiði, however, believe that earthquakes are related to voltage fluctuations caused by the prolonged re-pumping of water underground.
Due to the earthquakes that have occurred, no changes will be made to the operation of the power plant. This is because it is believed that such changes may increase the likelihood of greater future seismic activity.
Source: Yle