Previously we have talked about hydroelectric energy in Spain, and how influences in our «energy mix», you can see the article by clicking HERE.
In this article we are going to talk about the 7 largest hydroelectric plants of the country, starting with the central Aldeadávila, and ending with Entany Gento.
Aldeadávila hydroelectric plants
The Aldeadávila dam and hydroelectric plants, also known as the Aldeadávila jump. It is a pharaonic work built along the Douro River, 7 km from the town of Aldeadavila de la Ribera, located in the province of Salamanca (Castilla y León) and constitutes one of the most important hydroelectric engineering works in Spain in terms of installed power and electricity production.
Aldeadávila, operated by Iberdrola, has two hydroelectric plants. Aldeadávila I, started up in 1962 and Aldeadávila II, started up in 1986. The first has 810 MW installed while the second has 433 MW, which makes a total of almost 1.243 MW. Its average production is 2.400 GWh per year.
Central Jose Maria de Oriol, Alcantara
In Extremadura, Iberdrola has one of its most important hydroelectric plants, that of José María de Oriol, also known as Alcántara, which has an installed capacity of 916 megawatts (MW). Its capacity is approximately twice the electrical power that the company supplies in this autonomous community at times of maximum consumption.
It is located in the Caceres town of Alcántara, it has four hydroelectric groups of 229 MW of power that came into service between 1969 and 1970. The heaviest piece of the installation is the rotor of each generator with a weight of 600 tons.
The central reservoir is the second largest in Spain and the fourth in Europe. This has a maximum volume of 3.162 cubic hectometres (Hm3) and the dam has Meters 130, 570 meters of crest length and 7 spillway gates with a maximum discharge capacity of 12.500 m3 / s that function as drains when necessary.
Villarino Central
In the course of the river Tormes we find the reservoir and the Almond dam. It is located 5 km from the Salamanca town of Almendra and 7 km from the Zamora town of Cibanal, in Castilla y León. It is part of the Saltos del Duero system together with the infrastructures installed in Aldeadávila, Castro, Ricobayo, Saucelle and Villalcampo.
The hydroelectric plant is very peculiar and wastes large doses of ingenuity. In the case of Almendra-Villarino, the turbines are not located at the foot of the dam, which would a height of 202 m; Rather, it has a water intake almost at the lower level and this runs through a tunnel dug into the rock of 7,5 m in diameter and 15.000 m in length that ends up draining into the Aldeadávila reservoir, in the Duero River. With this, it is possible to obtain a height of 410 m, with a reservoir area of only 8.650 ha. In addition, the turbine-alternator groups are reversible and can function as a motor-pump.
The installed power of the hydroelectric plants is 857 MW and has a average production 1.376 GWh per year.
Central Cortes-La Muela.
The Iberdrola hydroelectric plant located in Cortes de Pallás (Valencia) is the largest pumping station in continental Europe . It is located on the Júcar river, and thanks to the start-up of four reversible groups installed in the cavern to take advantage of the 500-meter gap between the La Muela reservoir and the Cortes de Pallás reservoir, the plant expanded its 630 MW of power up to 1.750 MW in turbination and 1.280 MW in pumping.
The plant is capable of producing 1.625 GWh and meeting the annual demand of almost 400.000 homes
Saucelle Central
The reservoir, the power station and the Saucelle dam, also known as the Saucelle waterfall, are a work of hydroelectric engineering built in the middle course of the river Duero. It is located 8 km from the town of Saucelle, in the province of Salamanca. The section in which it is located is known as the Arribes del Duero, a deep geographical depression that establishes the border between Spain and Portugal.
It is part of the Saltos del Duero system together with the infrastructures installed in Aldeadávila, Almendra, Castro, Ricobayo and Villalcampo. Saucelle owns two hydroelectric plants. Saucelle I was built between 1950 and 1956, the year it came into operation, and has a power of 251 megawatts and has 4 Francis turbines. Saucelle II came into operation in 1989 and has 2 Francis turbines and an installed capacity of 269 MW, for a total of 520 MW.
Cedillo
The Cedillo dam is located on the international stretch of the Tagus River, in the confluence with its tributary the Sever. The plant was built in 1975 and is owned by Iberdrola, based on the agreement signed in 1968 with Portugal and whose purpose was "to regulate the hydraulic use of the international sections of the rivers Miño, Lima, Tajo, Guadiana, Chanza and their tributaries." It entered service in 1978 and has an installed capacity of 500 MW.
The dam, of the reservoir type and arch-gravity subtype, has a height of 66 meters and is located in the Tagus-International Natural Park, whose limits are marked by the rivers Tagus and Sever, occupying a narrow strip, except in the final stretch of the Tagus, where the limits are widened and extended by the meadows and slopes that flow towards the Sever.
Estany-Gento Sallente
The Estany-Gento Sallente plant is of reversible type and it came into operation in 1985. The plant is built in the course of the Flamisell river as it passes through the municipality of La Torre de Cabdella. It has a capacity of 468 MW and, as in almost all Endesa plants, it is equipped with 4 Francis turbines. The waterfall has a length of 400,7 meters.
The plant, installed between two lakes (Estany Gento, at 2.140 meters of altitude; and Sallente, at 1.765 meters), works in a fully reversible: at peak times (with maximum demand) it produces electricity by taking advantage of the waterfall from almost four hundred meters of unevenness. In the valley hours (minimum consumption) the same turbines pump the water from the lower lake to the upper one, storing a potential energy for the moments of maximum demand.