| Title | Stakeholder Engagement During Development of Theistareykir Geothermal Power Plant |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jóna BJARNADÓTTIR, Valur KNÚTSSON |
| Year | 2020 |
| Conference | World Geothermal Congress |
| Keywords | stakeholder engagement, Theistareykir power plant, environmental management, corporate social responsibility |
| Abstract | Landsvirkjun´s corporate strategy is to utilize renewable power resources in harmony with the environment and society. Large part of Iceland is uninhabited and the location of most large power plants are in rural areas and natural landscape of wilderness. There is an ongoing discussion in the society regarding the need for more power plants to meet increasing energy demand and the focus is on the site locations in the natural environment and its impacts. Thus, stakeholder engagement is an important part during design and construction of new power plants. Various stakeholder groups have different objectives and opinion. Those that expect to gain economic or social benefits are usually more positive while others are concerned regarding negative impact on the natural environment and how they perceive being in the area in question before and after. It is thus important to identify major stakeholders early in the project´s process and develop an open and honest dialogue. We will describe how Landsvirkjun collaborated with stakeholders in the local community when developing the new power plant at Theistareykir. The project´s objective was to harness the geothermal area and use it to improve the local economy and livelihood in the surrounding area. At the same time there were concerns regarding the unique nature at site. Thus, environmental performance was of a great concern in this project and special emphasis on harmonizing utilization and protection. In our experience an active stakeholder engagement was an important factor for the success of the project and the positive local support during the construction phase. |