Iberdrola España optimises hydroelectric pumping in Galicia, and hybridises a battery with pumping at the Santiago Sil - Xares power station
-
It will improve the management of the hydroelectric pumping of the Santiago Sil - Xares power station, with a storage capacity of almost 3,000 MWh.
-
The electricity company opted for the Galician region, and more specifically for its facilities in Ourense, to implement a pioneering project in Spain.
Iberdrola España already has all the permits and prior authorisations for improving and optimising the Santiago Sil - Xares pumped-storage hydropower station. The project consists of the installation of a static starter and a 5 MWh battery that will make it possible to make the coupling to the grid of the existing reversible pumping groups more flexible.
This is an innovative project in Spain and the first of its kind to be authorised. The project will enable the current hydroelectric pumping between the rivers Sil and Xares to be connected to the grid in a faster and more flexible way, with a difference in level of 230 m, 50 MW of power and a hydroelectric storage capacity of almost 3 GWh (3,000 MWh).
Iberdrola España is consolidating the investment effort it is making both to optimise its current facilities with pumped storage technology, of which it is the national leader with more than 3,000 MW of capacity (over 50% of the total in Spain), and to promote new electricity storage facilities (in Galicia, Conso II, 1,800 MW).
The Sil - Xares hydroelectric power station, with an average production of 100 GWh/year, is located in the municipality of Vilamartín de Valdeorras and came into operation in 1969. It has four hydroelectric groups: two of them of flowing typology and called Santiago Sil, with a power of 14 MW and a flow of 160 m3/s; and another two of the Francis Reversible type, with a pumped storage capacity (Santiago Xares) of 50 MW of power and a flow of 18 m3/s.
In the current context, pumped storage facilities (Gigabatteries) are essential to advance in the decarbonisation of the electricity system, enabling the integration of non-manageable renewable energies, increased investment and their development, by avoiding disconnections at times of low demand.
Iberdrola España is currently the only company with hydroelectric pumping technology in Galicia – with more than 350 MW installed in this type of facility in the province of Ourense.
The latest example of Iberdrola España's commitment to this technology is its Tâmega Hydroelectric Complex – one of the largest energy initiatives in history – with a total investment of more than €1.5 billion, an installed capacity of 1,158 MW and an energy reserve of 40 million kWh.