Tarsartuup Tasersua

Tarsartuup Tasersua lies approximately halfway between Nuuk and Maniitsoq running north/south and approx. 75 miles east of these towns. The most important source of water is the ice from a glacier at the eastern end of the lake. This means that the water is full of silt particles from the glacier, and environmental surveys have revealed that the lake is devoid of fish. The reservoir consists of a main reserve of water (Tarsartuup Tasersua) and a smaller reserve to the south from which the tunnel to the hydroelectric power plant runs. The tunnel will be approx. 6 miles long and run out into a power plant drilled/blasted into the fell at Anavik bay in Nuuk Fjord.

 Tarsartuup Tasersua (Photo: Greenland Development)

Øvrige anlægsarbejder på dette projekt vil inkludere op til seks dæmninger, hvoraf den højeste forventes at være på ca. 32 meter. Der vil være op til tre kanaler, hvor den længste vil være på ca. 720 meter, og op til tre tunneler hvor den længste vil være ca. 2 km.

Other construction work involved in this project will include up to six dams, of which the highest is expected to be approx. 105 feet high. There will be up to three channels, the longest of which is approx. 2360 feet long, and up to three tunnels, the longest of which will be approx. 1.25 miles long.

The most important reason for Tarsartuup Tasersua being raised from its current level is the size of the reservoir: With a bigger and deeper lake, a continuous supply of water to the tunnel is assured during the winter and the capacity of the lake will compensate for a lower inflow of rain and meltwater in cold, dry years. Tunnels and channels are used to lead the water from a number of smaller lakes and catchment areas to Tarsartuup Tasersua, and thereby increase the size of the potential source of hydropower.

Tarsartuup Tasersua and the sorrounding lakes. (Illustration: Alcoa / PB Power)

The maximum surface area of the reservoir will be approx. 37 square miles with a maximum variation in water height of 65 feet.

The expected capacity for Tarsartuup Tasersua is 175 - 200 MW. Tarsartuup Tasersua is thereby much smaller than Tasersiaq, although it still corresponds to Iceland's second biggest hydroelectric power plant, Hrauneyjafoss, and is four times the size of Greenland's biggest hydroelectric power plant at present, Buksefjordsværket.

Archeology:

Tarsartuup Tasersua was historically an important region for summer hunting of reindeer by the Inuit, and countless finds of relics of the life of the reindeer hunters can be found along the lake. Read more about the archeological surveys at Tasersiaq and Tarsartuup Tasersua here or at the National Museum's website.

At Ujarassuit bay, where a power station is expected to be located on the side of the fell, a complex of important ruins from the Norse period - the so-called 'Anavik' - has been found. It has therefore been proposed and decided to construct the power plant some distance away from this historic area.