Feb 22 2011
Iceland Silica (ISC) will purchase 30 megawatts of geothermal power from HS Orka, a 98.53% owned subsidiary of Magma Energy. This power purchase agreement will stay valid between the two companies for a two year tenure starting from May 1, 2013 to December 31, 2015.
A new production plant facility, for producing silica metal, is currently being commissioned by Iceland Silica at Helguvik in Iceland. This plant is situated at a distance of 20 km from HS Orka's power plants.
The 30 megawatts of electricity supply from HS Orka is currently being sold to an Icelandic aluminum smelter, under a power contract that will expire shortly. The soon to expire power contract ties the world aluminum price to the electricity price. However, the new contract will be signed at a higher price than the previous contract. The recent changes in the aluminum price will have no effect on the new contract signed by HS Orka with ISC.
The functioning of ISC's new plant will provide better job opportunities for Iceland. In addition, Iceland’s economic situation might also improve in the wake of HS Orka's geothermal power operations.