Construction completed for 1.15 GW pump hydropower complex in Portugal

Iberdrola has synchronized the first 220 MW turbine at the Gouvães hydroelectric power plant, delivering clean power to the grid for the first time. The hydroelectric plant is a part of the Tâmega Giga battery complex, one of Europe’s largest pumped storage plants.

The complex has an investment of more than EUR1.5 billion (USD1.72 billion). It comprises three reservoirs (Gouvães, Daivões and Alto Tâmega) and three hydroelectric power plants with 1,158 megawatts (MW) capacity on the Tâmega river, a tributary of the Douro. The construction works for Gouvães and Daivões plants have now been completed and all of the generating units are currently undergoing commissioning tests.

Tâmega will be able to produce 1,766 GWh per year, enough to meet the energy needs of neighboring municipalities and the cities of Braga and Guimarães (440,000 households). It will displace 1.2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions per year. When the Gouvães and Daivões plants are fully operational in the middle of this year, the large Tâmega giga-battery will have enough storage capacity to supply two million Portuguese households for an entire day. In 2024, with the commissioning of Alto Tâmega, the facility will be fully completed.