Iberdrola has inaugurated the new San Pedro II power plant, marking the completion of the extension to the Santo Esteve-San Pedro hydroelectric complex in Galicia, Spain.
Iberdrola invested around €200m in the extension work, which started in 2008.
The new San Pedro II plant acts as a counter-dam to Santo Estevo. It will modulate the flow on the River Sil.
It increases the energy obtained from a local, renewable resource with focus on the surroundings.
The total capacity of 500MW will supply renewable, emissions-free energy to more than 320,000 households in Galicia.
Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Galán said: “For a company like Iberdrola – which has been connected to hydroelectric technology since it was founded 115 years ago and has been the main driver of this technology in Spain – to achieve this new milestone in harnessing the Sil River is a source of great pride that also reinforces our commitment to promoting renewable energies, which are indispensable in bringing down emissions and progressing towards a sustainable energy model”.
He said: “Thanks to our unwavering commitment towards clean energies, to which we have allocated some €30bn in investments over the last 10 years, not only are we a major producer of hydroelectric energy; we are also the leading producer of wind power worldwide.
Galán also wished to underline the important role that Galicia plays in the commitment to offshore wind power, an area of technology in which Iberdrola is at the forefront, just as it was with hydroelectric energy and onshore wind power.
Image: Iberdrola chairman Ignacio Galán along with Regional Government (Xunta) of Galicia President Alberto Núñez Feijóo at the opening ceremony. Photo: Courtesy of Iberdrola, S.A.