MIRANDA-BARÁZAR BASIN: OUR HYDROELECTRIC POWER PLANTS

The hydroelectric power plants of the Miranda-Barázar basin boost the generation of more than 140 MW of renewable energy

Miranda-Barázar Basin Reservoirs

The considerable potential of the river Ebro in the Miranda-Barázar region positions it as an optimal location for the construction of reservoirs and dams. These structures play a crucial role in regulating the flow of water and in harnessing this resource for the production of hydroelectric energy, thanks to their hydroelectric power plants. Iberdrola España manages ten reservoirs in this area. In this way, we not only help to promote the use of renewables in the area, but also to boost the region's industrial fabric and boost the local economy. 

Cabriana Reservoir

Cabriana Reservoir, located in the province of Burgos, is a gravity dam type. It is 9.17 metres high from its foundations and covers a basin area of 5,336 km2. 

Cillaperlata Reservoir

Cillaperlata, whose alternative name is  Salto de Quintana Martín Galindez, is a reservoir built in 1959. The civil works infrastructure that makes it possible to impound the water of this reservoir is a gravity type dam and has a maximum height from its foundations of 11.50 metres. With a catchment area of around 4,131 km2, the water from the Cillaperlata reservoir is converted into electricity through the Quintana hydroelectric power station. 

Cereceda Reservoir

The Cereceda reservoir is located on the course of the Ebro River as it passes through the municipality of Oña in the province of Burgos. Built in 1947, the reservoir has a surface area of 1,942 km2 and a maximum height of its foundations of 17.80 meters. The Cereceda reservoir supplies water to two hydroelectric power stations: Trespaderne and Cardiel, both located in Castilla y León. 

La Gándara Dam

As the most important tributary of the river Asón, the river Gándara has a reservoir of the same name in Cantabria. The dam built on the La Gándara reservoir has a maximum height of 3 metres from its foundations.

Puentelarrá Reservoir

Puentelarrá Reservoir is located between the provinces of Álava and Burgos, at the foot of the Obarenes Mountains. The dam of this reservoir is of the gravity type, with a maximum height from its foundations of 20 metres and a basin surface area of 5,162 km2. 

Sobrón Reservoir

In the vicinity of the municipality of Sobrón, in Álava, is the reservoir of the same name, located in the gorge created by the Ebro River, which in turn forms the provincial boundary between Burgos and the Basque Country. The facility is surrounded by a mountainous environment, between the Obarenes Mountains and the Sierra de Árcena. It is also located in an area that used to house hotels and a spa, which made it a popular tourist destination until the 1980s. Its dam has a height from its foundations of 42 metres and covers a basin area of 4,774 km2. 

Ullibarri Gamboa Reservoir

The 146 hm³ capacity of the Ullibarri Gamboa reservoir makes it the largest reservoir in the Basque Country. It forms part of a system of three reservoirs that fulfil several functions. On the one hand, it supplies Vitoria and Bilbao and, on the other, it regulates the flow of the river Zadorra. It also serves as a recreational area, widely frequented in the summer season. The dam of this reservoir is located between the villages of Ullibarri and Arroyabe. With a basin surface area of 274 km2, the Ullibarri Gamboa dam has a maximum height from its foundations of 42 metres.

Urrúnaga Reservoir and Urrúnaga Dam

The Urrúnaga reservoir, located between Alava and Bizkaia, is also known as the "Legutiano" or "Santa Engracia" reservoir. Surrounded by Mount Gorbea and the Urkiola Natural Park, it is an important natural enclave for fishing, hiking and observing its flora and fauna. 

The water in this reservoir is used thanks to two dams: the dam of the same name, with a maximum height of 31 metres from its foundations and a basin surface area of 132 km2, and Urrúnaga Dique, with a maximum height of 13.5 metres.

Miranda-Barázar Basin Hydroelectric Power Plants

Our commitment to care for the environment and the use of renewable energies is reflected in our commitment to generate clean energy in the Miranda-Barázar basin in the north of the country. In this way, we manage to produce clean and sustainable energy resources, capable of supplying electricity to thousands of homes. 

Iberdrola España has a presence in nine power plants located in the Miranda-Barázar basin: Cabriana, Puentelarrá, Sobrón, Ullibarri Gamboa, Barázar, Quintana, Quintanilla Escalada, Trespaderne, La Gándara.

Barázar

In the heart of the Gorbea massif, in the municipality of Zeanuri (Vizcaya), is the Barázar underground hydroelectric power plant. This facility uses water from the Urrunaga reservoir, located in Álava, and ends up supplying a large part of the consumers in the metropolitan area of Bilbao. 

To access the Barázar power plant, which has a head of 330.3 metres, a tunnel was built in which supersulphate cement was used for the first time in Spain to protect the structure from the influence of gypsum, which is harmful to the conservation of hydraulic works. The hydroelectric power station was commissioned in 1957 and has an installed capacity of 84.32 MW.

Cabriana

The Cabriana hydroelectric power station is located in the Burgos municipality of Miranda de Ebro, near the river Ebro and the motorway linking the Basque Country with Burgos. Built in 1922, the hydroelectric power station has a head of 9.9 metres and a gross power of 5.16 MW. 

Puentelarrá

Puentelarrá is a type of hydroelectric power station with a submerged dam. The facility, commissioned in 1969, is located in the town of Bergüenda y Bozoo, in Álava, has a nominal power of 3.66 MW and a head of 7.36 metres. 

Quintana

The construction of the Quintana waterfall and hydroelectric power station in the Tobalina valley in Burgos dates back to 1902. The creation of this infrastructure was a milestone for Spanish hydroelectric power not only because of the industrial progress it represented, but also because it became the country's first interprovincial electricity supply through the Burgos-Vizcaya line. 

Today, the Quintana hydroelectric power plant has a head of 18.45 metres and a rated output of 7.8 MW. Quintana uses the Cillaperlata reservoir as a source of energy to generate an annual average of 23 GWh of electricity. 

Quintanilla Escalada

In Quintanilla Escalada (Burgos), there is a power plant of the same name. This facility was the first hydroelectric power station built in the region, in 1910. Its turbines are fed from the canal that crosses the mountain through a 500-metre-long tunnel. Quintanilla-Escalada has an installed power of 0.72 MW and a head of 25.5 metres. 

Sobrón

The Sobrón hydroelectric power station is fed by the waters of the Sobrón reservoir to  supply electricity to almost 31,000 homes annually. The plant is located in the municipality of Bergüenda, in Álava, and came into operation in 1961. Sobrón has an installed capacity of 28.04 MW and a head of 38 metres.

Trespadarne

The Trespaderne power station, with an installed capacity of 15.2 MW, was commissioned in 1950. At that time, the installation served to provide a stable and larger capacity supply to Medina de Pomar, and even to part of the industrial sector of Bilbao. 

The hydroelectric plant, with a head of 28.95 metres, takes advantage of the difference in level of a canal tributary of the Ebro to generate an annual average of 37 GWh of electricity. 

Ullibarri Gamboa

The Ullibarri Gamboa power station, located in Arrazua-Ubarrundia (Álava), came into operation in 1957. The power station is of the foot of the dam type, with a nominal power of 0.16 MW and a head of 27.25 metres. 

La Gándara

Located in Soba (Cantabria), the La Gándara hydroelectric power station supplies clean, renewable energy to 4,500 homes thanks to its 3.6 MW of installed capacity. The facility has a head of 389 metres.

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