EIB and Iberdrola Group sign two loans totalling €108M in energy storage investments in Extremadura

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed two green loans with the Iberdrola Group: a €50M loan from its own funds and a €58M loan from the Regional Resilience Fund, i.e. a total of €108M, to upgrade the pumping capacity of the Valdecañas hydroelectric complex in Cáceres (Extremadura), which includes the Torrejón and Valdecañas power plants.

The complex will contribute to guaranteeing the security of energy supply, integration and management of renewable energy through storage. The Valdecañas plant will have a total installed capacity of 225 MW, a hybridised battery of 15 MW and 7.5 MWh of stored energy.

The combined battery and hydroelectric units will increase aggregate pumping capacity to 313 MW and storage in the Tagus system to 210 GWh. The works to improve pumping capacity will take advantage of the existing infrastructures in the Valdecañas and Torrejón-Tajo reservoirs, without varying operating levels, and the existing transmission grids, reducing the environmental impact.

Commissioning the complex will help reduce CO2 emissions and the upgrade to the site will generate 165 direct jobs and 500 indirect ones, promoting skilled employment. The total investment is located in a so-called “cohesion region” with a per capita income below the EU average. 

The project contributes to climate action and territorial, economic and social cohesion, two of the Group's eight priorities set out in its Strategic Roadmap for 2024–2027, as well as to meeting the objectives of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan for Spain.