Reykjavík Energy Iceland to drill IDDP-3 single well with up to 50 MW by end of 2026

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Icelandic utility Orkuveitan (Reykjavík Energy) has locked the drilling target of its next ultra-high-temperature geothermal well, IDDP-3, onto one verification: whether an ultra-high-temperature geothermal well can generate significantly more power than a conventional geothermal well. In the company's assessment, the power generation potential of a single well is between 20 and 50 MW.

Iceland's Morgunblaðið published the related interview on September 10, 2026. In the interview, Orkuveitan CEO Sævar Freyr Þráinsson and Executive Director of Research, Development and Innovation Hera Grímsdóttir presented a four-step development plan aimed at advancing the Iceland Deep Drilling Project (IDDP) from obtaining ultra-high-temperature resources to assessing the feasibility of using them for commercial power generation.

The IDDP-3 well is scheduled to spud in the fourth quarter of 2026 at Nesjavellir, targeting resources with temperatures exceeding 400 °C at a depth of about 4 to 5 km. The drilling operation has been entrusted to Iceland Drilling. Orkuveitan had previously confirmed the drilling was scheduled for the end of 2026.

The core information disclosed in the interview is Orkuveitan's assessment of the power generation potential of ultra-high-temperature resources. Sævar Freyr said that geothermal wells currently operating under conventional conditions typically encounter temperatures between 250 °C and 350 °C, and many wells have a capacity of 2 to 7 MW; by drilling deeper into higher-temperature formations, Orkuveitan expects to achieve 20 to 50 MW per well.

"The expectation is that the power generation per well could ultimately reach several times that of a conventional geothermal well," Sævar Freyr said in the interview. The newspaper described the upper limit of this expectation as potentially reaching about seven times the output of existing geothermal wells. Orkuveitan did not present 50 MW as the verified capacity of IDDP-3; how much output can actually be achieved must still be determined through the established testing plan.

Higher temperatures matter because ultra-high-temperature fluids contain far more energy. Geothermal resources currently in common use are at depths of about 2 to 3 km and temperatures of up to 350 °C; Orkuveitan's overall plan for deep geothermal utilization is to access geothermal resources with temperatures exceeding 400 °C.

From drilling to power generation, the plan proposed by Orkuveitan is divided into four phases. The first phase is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026 and involves drilling IDDP-3 at Nesjavellir; one reason for the site selection is that the geothermal system has been well characterized and high temperatures are believed to occur at relatively accessible depths. The second phase is set for the fourth quarter of 2027 and will test injecting water into the ultra-high-temperature geothermal system and study the impact of injection on the existing reservoir; the company had previously also announced plans for this deep injection well.

The third phase is scheduled for the third quarter of 2028 and is intended to study how to stimulate the flow of water in hot rock: water is injected, heated underground, and then produced, using the resulting heat and steam to generate electricity. The fourth phase is also scheduled for the third quarter of 2028 and will connect the original IDDP-3 well to a geothermal power plant operated by ON (Orka náttúrunnar), with the aim of verifying the power generation performance of ultra-high-temperature formations in an operating geothermal system.

Hera Grímsdóttir explained to Morgunblaðið that previous IDDP wells have already proven that ultra-high-temperature geothermal resources do exist. Therefore, the focus of IDDP-3 has shifted to developing the materials, equipment and operating methods needed to utilize such resources safely and economically. Materials capable of withstanding extreme temperatures and pressures remain one of the main technical challenges. Previous IDDP drilling at Krafla and Reykjanes encountered ultra-high-temperature conditions and also exposed problems with casing, valves and other equipment. Orkuveitan noted that advances in drilling technology, materials and measurement equipment over the past decade have enabled the industry to tackle these challenges again.

The plan deliberately takes a step-by-step approach rather than trying to solve all technical problems in a single well. Each phase will provide information for deciding whether to proceed to the next step and how to scale up the concept.

Orkuveitan has not yet given a final estimate of the cost of power generated by ultra-high-temperature wells. Hera said this development plan is designed precisely to answer that question, on the premise that if each successful well can generate much more electricity, then fewer wells and less surface infrastructure may ultimately be needed to reach a given installed generation capacity. Whether this can lead to a competitive electricity price depends on drilling costs, single-well performance, equipment lifespan, and the ability to operate stably under ultra-high-temperature conditions.

Orkuveitan regards IDDP-3 as the first major step in a larger-scale deep geothermal plan. If the first phases go smoothly, the company intends to study applying this technology to other existing geothermal fields and ultimately drilling to deeper levels that are currently unreachable. The IDDP-3 work is also part of the European research program SHiFT, a consortium that received EUR 10 million from Horizon Europe earlier this year to develop technologies for utilizing geothermal resources above 400 °C.