The European Investment Bank (EIB) has approved €650 million to Iberdrola for three new dams and hydropower plants, including pumped storage, on the Tâmega and Torno rivers in northern Portugal.
This major hydropower project will increase energy storage capacity in the EU, provide services to the Iberian grid operators and ultimately facilitate the increase of the renewable share of the Portuguese energy mix. This investment will reduce the dependence of the Iberian market on fossil energy as well as CO2 emissions.
With a total investment of around €1.5 billion, Iberdrola´s new infrastructure will have a total capacity of 1158MW and will start operating in 2023. To advance the project’s implementation, EIB and Iberdrola today signed a €500 million loan, the first tranche of the total €650 million in funds approved to finance this project.
The Alto Tâmega, Daivões and Gouvães dams are located in the Douro River Basin and are expected to provide an average of 1760GWh per year to the Iberian market. Iberdrola´s project will require hiring up to 13,500 people, including direct and indirect jobs, during the entire construction phase and several hundred in operational phase.
The project is part of the Portuguese National Programme for Dams with High Hydroelectric Potential (PNBEPH). The promoter, Iberdrola, won the concession of the project to design, build and operate the plants following a competitive tendering process.
