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Iberdrola begins commissioning first unit at Valdecañas pumped-storage hydro power station
5/3/2025
News
Iberdrola Espana has begun commissioning the first 225MW pumping station (of three) to convert an existing hydroelectric plant to provide pumped storage. That includes a hybridised 15 MW/7.5 MWh battery.
The combined battery and hydroelectric power system will increase the Tagus River plant’s total energy storage capacity to 210 GWh. Three units at Valdecañas are undergoing technological upgrades that will fully restore the plant’s pumping capacity and increase water quality through improved reservoir circulation. The Valdecañas hydroelectric power station was originally commissioned in 1964.
A key advantage of the hybridisation project is its minimised environmental impact by utilising existing infrastructure and reservoirs and existing transmission lines. Once completed, the Valdecañas hybridisation project is expected to cut CO2 emissions by 200,000 tonnes per year.
Reversible hydropower plants like Valdecañas enable rapid electricity generation and consumption, helping balance energy supply and demand while stabilising the 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.
Iberdrola has also recently commissioned several other pumped-storage projects, including Tâmega in Portugal, as well as Valparaíso, Zamora, Santiago Sil-Xares in Galicia, and Torrejón in Cáceres. With these additions, the company now operates 18 pumped-storage hydropower plants with a total installed capacity of 6,000 MW.
