Iberdrola inaugurates Tamega pumped hydro giga battery in Portugal

Spanish utility group Iberdrola SA (BME:IBE) on Monday officially opened the 40-GWh Tamega pumped hydro battery in Portugal, in a ceremony attended by CEO Ignacio Galan and Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa.

The EUR-1.5-billion (USD 1.53bn) giga battery complex is located on the Tamega river in northern Portugal. It consists of three reservoirs -- Gouvaes, Daivoes and Alto Tamega -- and their corresponding power stations with a combined capacity of 1,158 MW.

The Gouvaes and Daivoes plants generated first power earlier this year, while the Alto Tamega station is due to follow in 2024, Iberdrola then said.

The Tamega hydro storage complex can store enough power to meet consumption needs of some 11 million people over a 24-hour period, according to Iberdrola.

“The opening of Tamega reinforces the potential of this technology to solve Europe’s energy storage problem, as well as strengthening energy security. Tamega will be central to Portugal’s energy transition, and we believe the project can kickstart a renewed focus on developing this technology across Europe,” said Galan. “The transition to net zero requires a huge uplift in storage capacity. As it stands today, no other technology offers more than pumped storage hydro does”.

Iberdrola is committed to investing EUR 3 billion to promote wind and solar power projects in Portugal, the company added.

(EUR 1.0 = USD 1.02)

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