Iberdrola increases energy storage capacity in Spain with upgrades to the Valdecañas pumped-storage power station

Iberdrola España, Iberdrola’s subsidiary in the country, is boosting energy storage on the River Tagus through the implementation of technological improvements at the Valdecañas (Cáceres, in south-western Spain), the commissioning of which increases the system’s total capacity by 355 MW of power and 210 GWh of additional storage, strengthening the integration of renewable energy and the stability of the electricity supply.

This facility has already successfully carried out its first pumping operations. The ‘gigabattery’ created by connecting two of Europe’s largest reservoirs, Alcántara and Valdecañas, enables the absorption of surplus energy from non-dispatchable renewable sources (solar and wind) to be fed back into the system when these sources are unavailable and demand requires it.

The new configuration at Valdecañas also includes a 15 MW, 7.5 MWh hybrid battery, helping to increase the Tajo system’s storage capacity by up to a further 210 GWh – equivalent to the average annual consumption of 60,000 households, more than 4 million electric vehicle batteries, or more than two weeks’ worth of total electricity consumption in Extremadura. This increase will improve energy demand management, particularly during periods of high demand.

Furthermore, the comprehensive coordination of the Valdecañas, Torrejón, Alcántara and Cedillo reservoirs — supplemented by the control of the Tiétar tributary via pumping — enables flood peaks to be smoothed, the risk of flooding to be reduced, ecosystems to be preserved and strategic water reserves to be created for the whole year.

You can read the full story at Iberdrola España's Communication Room.