A new volcanic fissure eruption by Sundhnúkar on the Reykjanes Peninsula started Wednesday evening, on 20 November, at 11:14 PM. The eruption is the seventh in the area since December 2023. Prior to the eruption, mitigative actions had been taken to ensure the safety of employees and to protect the Svartsengi power plant.
Warning signs from our boreholes
The location of the fissure eruption is essentially the same as in the previous eruptions. There has been no harm to any person in this incident and there is no immediate threat. Employees evacuated the Svartsengi power plant as the Civil Protection and Emergency Management warned of an imminent eruption, partly based on an alarm from our boreholes, triggered around 30 minutes before the eruption started.
HS Orka’s Emergency Management Team closely monitors the progress of the eruption and is in close contact with the Icelandic Meteorological Office.
Both power plants fully functional
No damage has occurred to HS Orka’s own infrastructure and Svartsengi power plant remains fully functional, as does Reykjanes power plant located 15 kilometres away from Svartsengi. Embankments around the power plant are protecting the plant as a the new lava flows along the embankments.
High-voltage power line damaged
However, lava flow under a high-voltage power line of Landsnet, the TSO, caused a failure of the power line at around 9 AM so the Svartsengi plant is currently not producing electricity. District heating and cold-water supply remains normal, secured by diesel-run backup power and presently run by electricity provided by Reykjanes Power Plant. Normal operations of the power plant will resume when the transmission line is restored. Landsnet will work on restoring the connection as soon as possible.
Blue Lagoon protected but parking lot under lava
HS Orka´s employees have access to the site as needed, and construction of the Svartsengi expansion project is expected to recommence within a couple of days if air quality allows.
While the Blue Lagoon is located inside the area protected by embankments, lava has run over roads and parking lot of the Blue Lagoon, located outside of the protected area.
Even though smaller in scale, the eruption has followed a pattern similar to previous eruptions in the area with strong and stable activity along the length of the fissure during the initial hours followed by a decrease in intensity.
The activity has separated into isolated segments on the fissure. The eruption may last for only a few days, or it may continue for several weeks at subdued activity compared to its beginning.
Embankments prove their purpose repeatedly
To mitigate the risk from lava flow, embankments have been built and reinforced to protect HS Orka’s power plant in Svartsengi. Such embankments have proven effective in previous eruptions, demonstrating that residual risk from lava flow can be assumed to be considerably lower for Svartsengi within the embankments than the unmitigated risk from lava flow in general.
Carefully monitoring gas pollution
The gas pollution hazard is managed during eruptions. The Meteorological Office and HS Orka’s Emergency Management Team monitor gas concentration in Svartsengi. Depending on wind direction, increased levels of SO2 may be measured at Svartsengi from time to time. In such cases all teams leave the area temporarily and return when the air quality has improved, generally within a few hours. Furthermore, personal protective equipment is used by all personnel of HS Orka and subcontractors working on the Svartsengi expansion project.