Botnur Hydroelectric Power Plant

The first hydroelectric power station in the Faroes, built in 1921 and still running

The Botnur power plant, in the valley north of Vágur, was the first hydroelectric station in the Faroe Islands and one of the longest continuously operating power plants in the country. It draws water from a small mountain reservoir above the valley through a pipeline to a turbine house at sea level; the head is about 200 metres.

The site is on the road from Vágur to Hvalba and can be visited from outside without difficulty. The dam, the pipeline, and the power house together make for a striking industrial landscape against the green of the valley sides. The interior is not normally open to visitors.

things to do sight
A story
When Botnur was built in 1921, electricity in the Faroes was such a novelty that the official handover ceremony was televised by Danish Radio -- before there were any televisions on Suðuroy to watch it on. The original turbines were replaced in the 1950s and again in the 1990s, but the original power house, with its clinker brick walls and tall windows, still works as designed.