The government delegate in Extremadura, José Luis Quintana, visited today the project that Iberdrola is carrying out in the Torrejón el Rubio reservoir in which new technological solutions are being implemented in the hydroelectric pumping system for energy storage.
These pumping stations operate with two reservoirs that operate as a closed circuit. The upper acts as a battery storing energy in the form of water that is impelled to the lower reservoir to generate electricity when the system requires it. Once turbined, that water from the lower reservoir is pumped during the hours of lower electrical demand to the reservoir located at the highest level.
Quintana recalled the importance of the renewable energy projects that are being implemented in Extremadura with an investment of 1.7 billion euros. Currently, nine photovoltaic plants, three hybridization projects with batteries for storage and three other pumping initiatives in the reservoirs of Alcántara, Torrejón and Valdecañas are being processed in the community.
Hydroelectric pumping technology is considered one of the most efficient systems for storing energy on a large scale. It is more cost-effective and brings stability, security and sustainability to the electrical system.
The government delegate affirmed that Extremadura is a reflection of the new energy model that the Government of Spain is betting on and recalled that, in the period 2020-2024, in the Extremadura community, renewable electricity production facilities with a power of more than 4,000 MW (twice the power of the Almaraz Nuclear Power Plant) have been launched, with an investment of around 3,000 million euros.