The Icelandic land-based salmon farming start-up GeoSalmo has announced it has reached a "major milestone" this week, having secured the necessary municipal construction permits to begin building its 20,000 tonne hybrid flow-through land-based farm in southern Iceland.
The farm will include on-site smolt and processing facilities, enabling GeoSalmo to grow their salmon from roe to finished product at the same site. During its first phase, the facility will produce approximately 7,500 tonnes of fish, ramping up to a 24,000-tonne capacity when fully operational.
"This achievement fills us with immense pride and excitement as we now stand ready to level the plot and commence the exciting phase of construction," GeoSalmo said in a statement. "Our dedicated team has put in tremendous effort, working tirelessly to bring this project to fruition."
"As we embark on this next phase, we remain steadfast in our commitment to delivering a project that not only meets the highest standards of quality and sustainability but also serves as a testament to the positive impact we can create."
GeoSalmo CEO Jens Thordarson said the the company has "high expectations for our collaboration", noting that both companies are commited to environmental sustainability.
"As part of our preparations, securing energy is crucial, and we highly value GeoSalmo's partnership with ON. It's reassuring to know that the energy for the project comes from our municipality, and we appreciate ON's reliability and power," Thordarson said in a statement.
"Environmentally friendly food production is a good use of Icelandic energy, both economically and as part of reducing the carbon footprint of food production globally," he added.
ON Power is the second-largest electricity producer in Iceland and operates the fourth-largest geothermal power plant in the world, Hellisheiðarvirkjun, which aims to be fully carbon neutral by 2025.
GeoSalmo commissioned Norwegian company Artec-Aqua for the design of its farm as well as supervision over construction. The GeoSalmo facility will be located near Þorlákshöfn in the Ölfus municipality on the southern coast of Iceland.
