Iberdrola today officially opened the 1158MW Tamega Giga Battery pumped storage hydroelectric facility in Portugal.
The €1.5bn Tamega is capable of storing 40 million kilowatt-hours, equivalent to the energy consumed by 11 million people during 24 hours in their homes.
It is located in northern Portugal on the Tamega river, and consists of three power stations – Gouvaes, Daivoes and Alto Tamega.
Iberdrola chairman and chief executive Ignacio Galan the company will double the investments made in the Gigabattery in the coming years in Portugal, reaching €3bn, which will be allocated to new wind farms and solar plants already under development or construction, as well as other infrastructures related to green hydrogen.
Galan said: “The opening of Tamega reinforces the potential of this technology to solve Europe’s energy storage problem, as well as strengthening energy security.
“Tamega will be central to Portugal’s energy transition and we believe the project can kickstart a renewed focus on developing this technology across Europe.
“The transition to net zero requires a huge uplift in storage capacity. As it stands today, no other technology offers more than pumped storage hydro does.”