Iberdrola España begins commissioning of the Valdecañas pumped-storage hydroelectric power station
- With a total power output of 225 MW and a 15 MW hybrid battery system, it will reduce emissions by 200,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.
Iberdrola España has commissioned the first pumping station set at Valdecañas, in Cáceres, Extremadura, which has a total capacity of 225 MW and includes a hybridised battery of 15 MW and 7.5 MWh of stored energy.
The battery plus hydroelectric sets increases the storage in the Tajo system up to 210 GWh (equivalent to 5.2 million electric vehicle batteries). Set 1 is the first of the plant's three sets in which technological improvements are being implemented that will allow full recovery of this facility’s pumping capacity. In addition, water quality will improve due to the increase in the flows circulating through the reservoirs.
Reversible power plants make it possible to consume and generate electricity quickly, which makes it easier to balance the consumption and demand curve and stabilises the electricity grid. The upper reservoir from which the power plant is fed acts as a ‘giant battery’ charged with the water’s potential power. Energy can be stored when there is excess production from other non-manageable energy sources and recovered when necessary, operating as a ‘closed circuit between the upper and lower reservoir’, which not only doesn’t consume water, but reuses it. This hydro-independent, long-life operation brings large-scale resilience to the power system.
Commissioning this plant will help reduce CO2 emissions by 200,000 tonnes a year thanks to the increased integration of renewables. It is also creating 165 direct jobs and another 500 indirect jobs, promoting skilled jobs. It is also having a major positive effect on the area’s economy, with the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises in the province of Cáceres, which also helps keep the population there.
Another important aspect has been the minimal impact it had during its execution, since the scope was exclusively electromechanical and didn’t require any civil infrastructure to be built, as it took advantage of existing structures and the Valdecañas and Torrejón-Tajo reservoirs, without varying levels of operation. No new transmission lines needed to be laid either, as the existing ones are being used.
The commissioning of Valdecañas reinforces Iberdrola España's commitment to hydroelectric storage in Spain. It recently commissioned the pumped storage projects of the Tâmega, Portugal, Valparaíso, Zamora, Santiago Sil - Xares, Galicia and Torrejón, Cáceres hydroelectric power plants. Iberdrola España currently has 18 pumped-storage hydroelectric power plants with a total installed capacity of 6,000 MW. The project for a new reversible power plant in Alcántara, Cáceres has already obtained the favourable Environmental Impact Statement and its grid access permit.