Svartisen power plant

The power station was completed in 1993 with a generating unit of 350 MW, the largest in Norway at the time. Another generating unit of 250 MW was added in 2010. Both units are equipped with Francis turbines. Svartisen power plant utilizes a height of fall of 585 metres.

Svartisen power plant receives water from both Rana and Beiarn municipalities, and from a number of rivers and streams west of the Svartisen glacier – a network consisting of a total of 100 kilometres of tunnels with about 50 stream intakes. The power plant also utilizes melt water from Svartisen through a larger intake below the glacier In addition, Svartisen power plant makes use of the catchment areas that were previously used by Glomfjord power plant (see separate information page).

The main reservoir and intake reservoir is Lake Storglomvatn. It is the largest in terms of water volume and holds 3.5 billion cubic metres when full. The power plant is equipped with a large internal sand trap to collect glacial sediments that might otherwise end up entering the turbines. A laboratory has been established for glacier research under Svartisen.

Like many other of Statkraft's large plants from the 1980s and 1990s, the plans for Svartisen power plant were drawn by architect Egil Sorteberg.