Home / Europe / Iceland / Lagarfoss

Lagarfoss

Hydro power plant in East, Iceland. Approximate location 65.5069, -14.3656.

HydroEastIceland

Lagarfoss is a 27 MW hydro power plant in East, Iceland. It is operated by Rafmagnsveitur ríkisins NA. Based on its capacity (estimated), it can supply roughly 27,030 homes (estimated). It ranks #15 of 20 Iceland power plants by installed capacity. Commissioned in 1975, it is around 51 years old — an older, legacy facility. As a non-combustion source, it has no direct CO₂ emissions from generation. In context, hydro supplies about 70.7% of Iceland's electricity; the national grid averages 28 gCO₂/kWh (100.0% low-carbon) (2024).

27MW installed capacity
27,030homes powered (est.)
1975commissioned (~51 yrs)

Plant data: WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0), id WRI1002801.

Capacity vs largest hydro plants in Iceland

Fljótsdalsvirkjun (Kárahnjúkar ): 690 MW690Fljótsdals…Búrfell: 270 MW270BúrfellHrauneyjafoss: 210 MW210Hrauneyjaf…Blanda: 150 MW150BlandaSigalda: 150 MW150SigaldaSultartangi: 120 MW120SultartangiBúðarháls: 95 MW95BúðarhálsVatnsfell: 90 MW90Vatnsfell

Installed capacity (MW), WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0).

Owner

Operated by Rafmagnsveitur ríkisins NA.

Local climate & thermal context

This hydro plant converts the energy of falling or flowing water through hydro turbines. It sits in a polar tundra climate (Köppen ET) — Northern Hemisphere, latitude 65.5°N — which shapes how much energy it can produce and how its output varies through the year.

2.7°Cannual mean temp
5,589heating degree-days (base 18°C)
0cooling degree-days (base 18°C)
225 melevation

Monthly mean temperature

J: -2 °CJF: -2 °CFM: -2 °CMA: 0 °CAM: 4 °CMJ: 8 °CJJ: 10 °CJA: 9 °CAS: 6 °CSO: 2 °CON: -1 °CND: -2 °CD10 °C

Heating degree-days here run 127% above the median power plant in this dataset — a proxy for how much extra energy heated equipment must replace through its surfaces in winter.

Climate heat-demand index: 97/100 — this site sits in the top third of the power plants we cover by heating degree-days.

In colder climates, uninsulated hot equipment (boilers, turbines, valves, steam lines) loses proportionally more heat to ambient air — exactly the loss Inzonex modular insulation is designed to cut.

Climate normals: WorldClim 2.1 (1970–2000 monthly normals, 10 arc-min, CC BY 4.0); zone: Köppen-Geiger world climate classification (Kottek et al. 2006, 0.5° grid). Degree-days & heat-demand index computed by PowerAtlas — a modelled heat-demand proxy, not a measured site figure.

How it compares & nearby plants

The #10 largest hydro power plant of 14 in Iceland by capacity.

Iceland has 14 hydro power plants in this dataset, together about 1,913 MW of capacity.

Location

Coordinates 65.5069, -14.3656 from WRI Global Power Plant Database (CC BY 4.0). View on OpenStreetMap.

Built from open public data; no personal information. Operate this site? Request a correction or removal.