Iberdrola optimizes hydroelectric pumping in Galicia, and hybridizes a battery with pumping at the Santiago Sil – Xares plant

• Improve the management of the hydroelectric pumping of the Santiago Sil – Xares power plant, with a storage capacity of almost 3,000 MWh. 
• The electricity company has opted for the Galician community, and more specifically for its facilities in Ourense, to implement a pioneering project in Spain.
   

Iberdrola already has all the permits and previous authorizations for the improvement and optimization of the Santiago Sil – Xares pumped storage power plant. The project consists of the installation of a static starter and a 5 MWh battery that will make the coupling to the grid of the existing reversible pumping groups more flexible. 

This is an innovative project in Spain, being the first of its kind to be authorized. The project will allow a faster and more flexible coupling to the grid of the current hydroelectric pumping between the rivers Sil and Xares , 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 is thus consolidating the investment effort it is making both to optimize its current facilities with pumped storage technology, which is the national leader with more than 3,000 MW of power (more than 50% of the total in Spain), as well as to promote new storage facilities (in Galicia, Conso II, 1,800 MW).

The Sil – Xares hydroelectric power plant, 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 other two of Francis Reversible type, with accumulation capacity by pumping (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 decarbonization of the Electricity System, allowing the integration of non-manageable renewable energies, the increase of investment and their development, by avoiding disconnections at times of low demand. 

Iberdrola is currently the only company with hydroelectric pumping technology in Galicia, with more than 350 MW installed in this type of facilities in the province of Ourense. 

The latest example of Iberdrola’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 euros, an installed capacity of 1,158 MW and an energy reserve of 40 million kWh.