30 JAN 2024

Iberdrola España participates in Life Kantauribai for the ecological improvement of the Natura 2000 river network in the Bay of Biscay

  • The project is led by the Government of Navarre, through its public company GAN-NIK.
  • The aim of the project is to restore the bodies of water that flow into the Bay of Biscay to improve the conservation status of species and habitats-
  • It has a budget of €10.8 M and is expected to be completed in 2027.

 Iberdrola España, through its Hydroelectric Division, ratifies its commitment to the environment by collaborating with the LIFE KANTAURIBAI project for the ecological improvement of the Natura 2000 river network in the Bay of Biscay.

Iberdrola España, through its Hydroelectric Division, confirms its commitment to the environment by collaborating with the LIFE KANTAURIBAI project for the ecological improvement of the Natura 2000 river network in the Bay of Biscay. The initiative is promoted by a consortium with 12 agents, most of them public entities, such as the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa (Diputación Foral de Gipuzkoa), the Basque Water Agency (URA), the Cantabrian Hydrographic Confederation or the City Councils of Donostia, Errenteria and Hernani, among others. They participate in various actions such as improving the conservation of migratory species (salmon, eel, shad, lamprey) and other native species. Iberdrola España is the only private energy company supporting this biodiversity protection initiative.

The Basque company is participating in the project by collaborating in the improvement of the fluvial connectivity of the Urumea River, on the border between Navarre and the Basque Country, with the construction of a new fish ladder at the Santiago Urumea azud (dam), associated with the hydroelectric plant of the same name. It will also be equipped with an innovative visualisation and video counting system that will allow monitoring the correct functioning of the infrastructure as well as the behaviour of the salmonid species that are so representative of the area. In 2024, the construction project for the fish ladder will be defined, together with the video counting system, to be carried out in subsequent years of the LIFE project and then be able to monitor the results of its implementation. 

The project is led by the Government of Navarre, through its public company GAN-NIK, has a budget of €10.8M and is expected to be completed in 2027.