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Iberdrola España and Langreo town council work together to recover the banks of the Nalón River
- The company and the Asturian city council sign an agreement for the green transition that will help to mitigate possible floods
- Iberdrola España cedes more than 6 hectares and will retain ownership of the land for the duration of the decommissioning and decontamination work
- This is another step by the company to decarbonise the site of the former Lada Thermal Power Station, following the recently announced partnership with Bayer
Iberdrola España and the Asturian town council of Langreo have signed an urban development agreement on the use of the banks of the Nalón River at the former Lada thermal power plant.
The agreement provides for Iberdrola España’s work with the Langreo municipality to recover the banks of the Nalón River, for the green transition and to prevent flooding. This will help to mitigate possible flooding of this river in Asturias.
One of the company's commitments is to draw up the Special Plan to develop the land of the former Lada Thermal Power Station, which has already been submitted for administrative approval.
In addition, Iberdrola España cedes a total of 6.3 hectares of land to the town. The transfer will be formalised by public deed.
Iberdrola España will retain possession of the properties for the duration of the decommissioning and decontamination works.
New partnerships for decarbonisation: Bayer
Iberdrola España's commitment to the Asturian mining area, and linked to the land of the former Lada Thermal Power Station, doesn’t stop there.
Iberdrola España has just confirmed the agreement that will enable electrification of Bayer's production plant in La Felguera, Asturias, which is one of the most important projects to decarbonise the Asturian mining area. Iberdrola España will install an innovative thermal storage system designed by the Spanish company Inerco next to Bayer's plant and will transform 100% renewable electricity from an adjacent self-consumption facility and its various renewable plants into the steam that Bayer needs to carry out its operations. This is the first heat purchase agreement (HPA) of its kind in Spain.
The project, which has been a beneficiary of the strategic projects for economic transformation and recovery for industrial decarbonisation offered by the Spanish Ministry of Industry and which has the support of the Institute for Diversification and Saving of Energy in the New Business Models line, has a budget of €17 M and expects to complete its development by June 2026.
With this important milestone, the plant that produces Bayer's acetylsalicylic acid for the entire world will become the first site in its industry in Spain to decarbonise and one of the first in the world, thanks to the photovoltaic plant that Iberdrola España will install next to the factory on the unusable land of the former thermal power plant.
This technology will allow Bayer to decarbonise its plant while reducing the impact of fossil fuel volatility on its business. In addition, this investment will reduce CO2 emissions and pollution, increasing the consumption of local renewable energy and helping to improve the trade balance. The project makes it possible to take advantage of Spain's renewable generation potential and increase industrial competitiveness.
Iberdrola España's ‘Lada Plan’ for the former Thermal Power Station
A year ago, Iberdrola España started demolition of the unprotected buildings, a total of 24, at the former Lada power plant. The demolition will free up valuable land for future economic development projects for the region of Langreo, and also for the Principality of Asturias.
The land of the former Lada Thermal Power Station, due to its privileged location, opens the way to the development of business initiatives in the area and will create jobs and drive development in the region.
Iberdrola España has recently completed demolition of the chimney of the old Lada Thermal Power Plant in Asturias. Due to the town’s proximity, and to limit noise and problems for the residents of Langreo, the chimney could not be taken down using explosives. The demolition had to be carried out in a controlled manner and robots were used to take down the entire stack.
The chimney, 180 metres high, had been in Langreo since 1981. It consisted of two stacks, one internal and one external.
For its controlled and safe demolition, a platform was built up to at a height of 180 metres, on which two robots were set that have been knocking down both stacks bit by bit, descending as the material fell away.
All the debris generated has been falling into the chimney itself, minimising the dust. This process has taken several months of work.
At 30 meters, the scaffolding was removed and the chimney was knocked down from the ground.
In this way, Iberdrola España shows its commitment to the development of the Langreo region, in the search for economic development projects and initiatives linked to the opportunities offered by the energy transition towards a decarbonised economy.
The plan promotes clean technologies–which will great new jobs in the regions–, which in Asturias has led to the development of renewable projects with international impact.
The decision, part of its strategy to combat climate change, responds to its commitment to reduce the intensity of CO2 emissions to carbon neutral by 2050, and contributes to advancing the energy transition towards the economy’s decarbonisation, based on the development of clean, sustainable and competitive technologies.
And to do so, Iberdrola España, in addition to the renewable energy investment plan, launched an action plan for the region of Lada, Asturias.
Iberdrola España's plan for the region’s transformation is based on four key aspects: investment in clean technologies, development of local suppliers, training and support for local entrepreneurship.
Commitment to suppliers and Asturian jobs
Iberdrola España has around 98 suppliers in Asturias from which it makes an average purchase of more than €420 M. These include well-known companies such as Windar, Gonvarri, and Tensa, and with them it contributes to the structuring of the territory and the creation of industrial and innovation opportunities in a growing market with a high export component. Some key examples include:
- Iberdrola España manufactures with WINDAR several main structural components for offshore wind farms, jackets, opening the doors for Asturias as a supplier for other companies.
- The Asturian company IDESA has produced the hydrogen storage tanks for what is the largest plant in Europe, the Iberdrola plant in Puertollano.
- In the Principality of Asturias, the company also manufactures the structures, substations and wiring for several of its photovoltaic power plants at Reenergy, Isotrón and Conelec.
These partnerships are an opportunity to develop the value chain in Asturias and to position Spanish industry as an international benchmark.
