At a time when work is being done to decarbonize the economy and when energy storage is key when it comes to integrating renewable energiesIberdrola is developing the project of a new reversible hydroelectric pumping plant in the municipality of Alcántara that will allow the electrical system to have another “giga battery” in the Tagus that will give firmness and stability to the system.
The Alcántara II project (Cáceres), which already has the network access permission and the favorable environmental impact declaration, will have an installed power of 440 MW, allowing reversible energy storage of 16 million kWh, which is the equivalent of the average daily consumption of more than 4 million people, and provides firmness to the electrical system up to 37 hours with machines fully loaded.
Through this center will be able to generate more than 1,000 additional GWh annually to those currently generated using the same water resource, thereby avoiding the emission of an estimated 355,000 tons of CO2 per year and better taking advantage of the potential of the Tagus. Hydroelectric use is non-consumptive, it does not consume water. The pumping plants, in addition to not consuming water, reuse it.
Innovative and environmentally friendly design
Regarding its design, the plant will use the existing reservoirs of Alcantara and Cedillo. All of the hydraulic circuits have been designed underground, including the power plant that has been designed in a well, thus taking into account the environmental and heritage conditions of the surroundings, thus achieving optimal integration.
In fact, the project states that the 400 kV double-circuit power line is underground to minimize the environmental impact and risk to birdlife.
Pumped hydroelectricity: the most efficient large-scale storage system
“Reversible” or pumping plants have two reservoirs that operate as a “closed circuit”. The upper one acts as a giant battery or “giga battery” storing potential energy in the form of water that is turbined to the lower reservoir to generate electricity when the system requires it. Once turbined, this water, now contained in the reservoir located at the lowest level (lower reservoir), is pumped during the hours of lowest electrical demand to the reservoir located at the highest level (upper reservoir) following the same route, but in the opposite direction, operating as a closed circuit.
In this specific case of this project, the new plant will connect the lower Cedillo reservoir and the upper Alcántara reservoir through a double underground hydraulic circuit of 0.9 km in length and the existing difference between the reservoirs of up to 108 m will be used through 2 reversible turbines of 220 MW of power.
1.2 billion euros of investment and 1,500 jobs
According to the BOE, in the positive environmental impact declaration of the Alcántara II project, the start-up of this pumping plant will generate around 1,500 direct jobs during the construction phasewhich will mean a contribution to the economic development of Extremadura.-.
Today pumped hydroelectricity is the most efficient large-scale storage system available. Allows you to store surplus energy from non-manageable renewable energy sources, solar and windto deliver them at the times when it is most needed, providing stability to the electrical system, since it can generate significant amounts of clean energy with a very fast response time.
In reference to the environmental aspects of the project, in addition to the burying of the plant and the electrical lines, the set of measures adopted to protect the birdlife, terrestrial fauna, aquatic fauna and local flora stands out, having established a set of actions with cross-border reach to improve biodiversity, or the use of recycled materials promoting the circular economy.
Innovative storage project for the IDAE
This project has an aid of 44.9 million euros granted by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE) within the framework of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan – Financed by the European Union – Next GenerationEU for being the best proposal in terms of economic viability and enabling technical characteristics for the integration of renewable energies.
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