Icelandic hydroelectric project activiated amid swirl of environmental protests
Published by MAC on 2006-09-28
Icelandic hydroelectric project activiated amid swirl of environmental protests
by The Associated Press
28th September 2006
EGILSSTADIR, Iceland Europe's highest concrete rockfill dam was activated Thursday in the remote eastern Icelandic highlands amid a swirl of protest from environmentalists.
The Karahnjukar dam is part of a hydroelectric project constructed by national energy company Landsvirkjun to power an aluminum smelter being built by the aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. in eastern Iceland.
In temperatures hovering just above freezing, the murky green waters of the glacial Jokulsa a Dal river came to a slow halt at around 0930GMT as workers sealed off two locks.
It was the first step in creating what will ultimately become a 57 square kilometer (22 square mile) reservoir, flooding a swathe of the Icelandic highlands.
The project has been the subject of ongoing protests and calls to action by environmentalists in Iceland and abroad, including a peaceful protest march earlier this week in several of the nation's cities.
Opponents of the dam and reservoir claim it will destroy wildlife habitats and is emblematic of Iceland making environmental and political sacrifices to attract the international aluminum industry.
"This project is sacrificing a big slice of land that would have been an excellent national park. It was land that was untouched, but the politicians thought that untouched meant it was unpopular and invaluable," said Andri Snaer Magnason, author of the book "Dreamland, Self-Help for a Scared Nation."
The hydroelectric project involves the damming of two glacial rivers, forcing water to flow through a 72 kilometer (45 mile) tunnel system to a powerhouse where energy is expected be generated by April 2007.
Landsvirkjun said the US$1.5billion (ˆ1.18billion) investment to build the hydroelectric plant is the largest of its kind in Icelandic history.
It will power Iceland's third aluminum smelter, but three more smelter projects are also under consideration around the country, including the expansion of an existing plant.
"The dam is a small part of the grand scale aluminum revolution. The idea is to make Iceland the largest aluminum smelter in the world," said Magnason.
Supporters of the project believe the benefits that international investment will bring to Iceland outweigh the environmental loss.
"There are many true nature lovers — I am a true nature lover," said Sigurdur Arnalds, a spokesman for Landsvirkjun. "Some of those are not willing to make compromises that we sacrifice something for economic and social benefits.