Landsnet and the Municipality of Hafnarfjörður agree to demolish the Hamranes line no later than 2018

Haraldur L. Haraldsson, Mayor of Hafnarfjörður, and Guðmundur I. Ásmundsson, CEO of Landsnet, today signed an agreement on the development of part of the company's electricity transmission system within Hafnarfjörður.

Haraldur welcomes the agreement reached through cooperation and collaboration with the local residents. „The agreement we have signed today ensures that work will begin immediately to change the appearance and improve the noise insulation at the Hamranes substation, and that the lines will be partially buried near Hamranes no later than 2018,“ says Haraldur.

The agreement aims to allow the demolition of Hamranes Lines 1 and 2, and the relocation of the Ísall Lines 1 and 2, which run from the Hamranes substation to the Straumsvík aluminium smelter, further away from the settlement. It is planned that the new 220 kV Suðurnesalína 2 – a high-voltage line to be laid out on the Reykjanes peninsula – will connect to Hamranes via a 1.5 km-long 220 kV underground cable from Hraunhella. The City of Hafnarfjörður will shortly issue a construction permit for the section of Suðurnesjalína 2 that passes through the city's territory.

Improved appearance and acoustics at the Hamranes substation

To reduce noise from the substation, measures will be taken this year to improve the noise environment of the Hamranes substation, including building sound-dampening enclosures around the transformers and raising the noise barrier by 2 metres. Planned changes resulting from the construction of the Sandskeið and Suðurnesjalína 2 lines, the demolition of Hamranes lines 1 and 2, and the relocation of Ísallína 1 and 2 will improve the appearance of the substation.  Steel lattice masts protruding from the structure will be reduced in size and additional masts within the site boundaries for Sudurnesjalína 1 will be removed once Sudurnesjalína 2 is in operation.

Guðmundur Ingi Ásmundsson, CEO of Landsnet, welcomes the agreement reached on changes to the electricity transmission system near a residential area in Hafnarfjörður. „The agreement has been made in consultation with the residents“ association in Hafnarfjörður's Vellir district, and it is important that this has resulted in an outcome that enjoys broad consensus," says Gudmundur.

The works, which are part of the agreement between Landsnet and the City of Hafnarfjörður, are scheduled for completion by the end of 2018, provided that the necessary permits are obtained in good time. Landsnet's estimated cost for these changes is nearly 5 billion króna, in addition, the cost of Suðurnesjalína 2 is estimated at around 2.5 billion króna.

Preparation for Sandskeiðslínu has begun

The construction of the Sandskeið Line 1 is a prerequisite for demolishing the Hamranes Lines and making other changes to the transmission system in Hafnarfjörður, as set out in the agreement. In order to commence this project as soon as possible, the contracting parties will seek cooperation with other relevant local authorities.

Preparations for the construction of the 420 kV Sandskeið Line 1 have begun. The line will be an overhead line from a new substation at Sandskeið to Hrauntungur in Hafnarfjörður, and from there it will continue alongside the Suðurnesjalína 2 to Hraunhellu. Two possible routes for the Sandskeið Line 1 from Hraunhæla to Hamranes are under consideration. One option is for it to run overhead from Hraunhæla in accordance with the Hafnarfjörður Master Plan, but connect to Hamranes via an underground cable from the overhead section west of Krýsuvíkurvegur. Alternatively, there is a proposal to connect Sandskeið Line 1 from Hrauntungur directly to the aluminium smelter in Straumsvík, instead of to Hamranes.