Spain – Iberdrola is advancing innovative renewable energy projects with the goal of maximizing energy use and promoting the efficient integration of renewable energies into the electricity grid.
The energy company is continuing with the installation of the first wind storage battery in Biscay, which will be operational in January 2022. Specifically, it evacuates the 6MW Oiz wind farm at the Abadio TS. It will have a guaranteed storage capacity of 3.5 MWh and will be installed by Ingeteam.
This project complements the country’s first battery storage system, which is located in Elgea-Urkilla (32 MW), in Araba -Euskadi-, and has an installed power of 5 MW and a storage capacity of 5 MWh.
In Spain, the company has installed the first battery in the Arauelo III (40 MW) photovoltaic plant, which is being built in the municipality of Romangordo (Cáceres, Extremadura). The project includes a battery with 3 MW of power and 9 MWh of storage capacity, and Ingeteam is also in charge of its development.
It is also working on the Puertollano (Ciudad Real) project, which will be Europe’s first and largest green hydrogen plant, powered by a 100 MW photovoltaic plant and will include a lithium-ion battery system with a storage capacity of 20 MWh. In the Canary Islands, Iberdrola will install batteries with a storage capacity of 12 MW at the Ifara and El Vallito wind farms in Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife.
The company currently has 200 MW of battery power under construction or secured, some of which is already installed, with the goal of increasing to 300 MW by 2025, primarily in the UK and Australian markets. The company’s current battery storage system portfolio totals 900 MW.
Addressing the challenge of the energy transition
Storage systems are critical to addressing the challenge of the energy transition and are poised to become an essential component of the future electricity system, as they allow for improved electricity supply quality, grid stability and reliability, and the integration and utilization of renewable energy.
The company maintains its commitment to storage through pumped storage technology, where it is the market leader with over 4,000 MW of installed capacity, in projects such as Cortes-La Muela (Valencia), Europe’s largest installation of these characteristics, and Tâmega, which is currently under construction in Portugal.
In November 2019, Iberdrola inaugurated Spain’s first lithium-ion battery-powered electrical energy storage system for distribution networks. The project, which is a first in the country and is located in the Murcian municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz (Murcia), improves the quality of energy supply in the surrounding area while also maximizing the use of solar energy generated in the area.
Iberdrola believes that the energy transition will be a driving force in the transformation of the industrial fabric as well as the green recovery of the economy and employment. To that end, the company has announced a historic investment plan of 75 billion euros for the period 2020-2025 (150 billion by 2030), with the goal of doubling its renewable capacity and capitalizing on the opportunities presented by the global energy revolution.
In Spain, investments total around 14.3 billion euros for the period, half of which will go toward the development of new renewable projects, and more than 4.5 billion euros will go toward strengthening and further digitalizing electricity grids.
