Húsavík Geothermal Exploration Heats Up: Orkuveita Húsavíkur Drills for the Future
November 26, 2025 , If you’ve noticed drilling rigs popping up around Húsavík and the surrounding area lately, you’re not imagining things. Orkuveita Húsavíkur, the local geothermal utility, is in the middle of an ambitious new phase of temperature-gradient drilling to map the hidden geothermal resources beneath Norðurþing.
The company has contracted Vatnaboranir ehf. to drill seven new shallow wells (70–90 meters deep) across the region. Three of these holes are specifically on the Bakki industrial area to investigate the potential for warm seawater (jarðsjór) that could supercharge land-based aquaculture projects. The rest are scattered around the Húsavík vicinity to hunt for high-temperature resources that could secure the town’s heating needs ,and possibly open the door to electricity generation , for decades to come.
Why Now?
Húsavík has been 100 % geothermal-heated since the 1970s, but the current production wells are aging. Instead of waiting for a crisis, Orkuveita Húsavíkur launched a systematic exploration program back in 2023. So far, twelve temperature-gradient holes have been drilled, and the results have already surprised geologists at ÍSOR (Iceland GeoSurvey), who are analyzing the data.
Some highlights so far:
Unexpectedly cold groundwater south of town
Geological layers that weren’t previously known in the area
New clues about faults and fracture zones that could channel hot water to the surface
Every meter drilled sharpens the underground map and brings the team closer to pinpointing the next generation of production wells.
What Happens Next?
Once the seven new holes are completed and logged, ÍSOR’s experts will combine the temperature data with existing seismic, magnetic, and resistivity surveys. The goal is simple but game-changing: find the sweet spots where hot water rises close enough to the surface to be tapped economically.
If the results are positive (and early signs are encouraging), the next step will be deeper exploratory wells , the kind that can actually produce hot water or steam. A big new resource could mean lower heating bills, expanded district heating networks to outlying villages, or even a small power plant to make Húsavík energy-independent in electricity as well as heat.
A Model for Small Communities Everywhere
What makes this project special is that it’s being driven entirely by a local, municipally,owned utility. No foreign investors, no massive corporations , just Orkuveita Húsavíkur and Norðurþing municipality investing in their own future with Icelandic expertise.
In a world chasing gigawatt-scale geothermal projects, Húsavík’s quiet, methodical approach is a reminder that geothermal energy still shines brightest at the community level – delivering cheap, clean, reliable energy directly to the people who own the resource.
We’ll keep you posted as soon as the new data is released. For now, the message from the drill rigs is clear: the earth beneath Húsavík still has plenty of heat to give.
Source: Husavikur
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