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Iberdrola has completed the extension to the largest hydroelectric complex in Galicia, following the commissioning of the new San Pedro II power plant, which was inaugurated this morning by the Chairman of Iberdrola, Ignacio Galán, and the President of the Regional Government (Xunta) of Galicia, Alberto Nuñez Feijóo, in the Sil River Basin, in the municipality of Nogueira de Ramuín (Ourense).

The commissioning of this facility marks the conclusion of the extension to the Santo Esteve-San Pedro hydroelectric complex, on which Iberdrola has been working on since 2008, a project in which the company has invested some €200 million and provided employment to almost 800 people.

This initiative has also given a boost to the business sector in Galicia: in the construction of San Pedro II alone, some 80 local companies have taken part. This figure rises to 200 if the number of companies participating in the extension to Santo Estevo are also counted.

During the inauguration of the plant, where a commemorative plaque was unveiled, the Chairman of Iberdrola highlighted that “for a company like Iberdrola - which has been connected to hydroelectric technology since it was founded 115 years ago and has been the main driver of this technology in Spain - to achieve this new milestone in harnessing the Sil River is a source of great pride that also reinforces our commitment to promoting renewable energies, which are indispensable in bringing down emissions and progressing towards a sustainable energy model”.

“Thanks to our unwavering commitment towards clean energies, to which we have allocated some €30 billion in investments over the last 10 years, not only are we a major producer of hydroelectric energy; we are also the leading producer of wind power worldwide”, explained Ignacio Galán.  “We have become an international benchmark in combating climate change, the main global challenge facing the world today, as we have reduced our emissions by 75% in recent years so that they currently stand at just a third of the average for the European electricity sector”.

The Chairman of Iberdrola also emphasised that “the Galicia region is one of the best examples of this position attained by the company, because thanks to our hydroelectric power plants and wind farms, 100% of our output capacity in this autonomous region comes from renewable sources and is therefore entirely emissions-free”.

Mr. Galán also wished to underline the important role that Galicia plays in the commitment to offshore wind power, an area of technology in which Iberdrola is at the forefront, just as it was with hydroelectric energy and onshore wind power.

Clean energies and catalyst effect

“The construction at the Navantia shipyards in Fene of the platforms for our wind farms in the Baltic Sea off Germany and in the North Sea off England provides jobs to thousands of people and creates work for dozens of companies in Galicia”, explained the Chairman of Iberdrola.  “These figures highlight our commitment to this land, where we have invested over €1.2 billion in the last decade and made purchases worth over €1.4 billion.”

Mr. Galán also emphasised that going forward, “we are going to keep on investing and carrying out projects that are aligned with the basic tenets of our strategy, which focuses on clean energies, technological innovation and international growth. We have a catalyst effect on industry and employment (with purchases amounting to over €9 billion last year, including some 4,000 Spanish suppliers) and we provide jobs for 88,000 people in our country, according to a recent report by PriceWaterhouseCoopers”.

The new San Pedro II hydroelectric power plant, which acts as a counter-dam to Santo Estevo, modulating the flow on the River Sil, has allowed to make the most of the extension added to Santo Estevo, thereby increasing the energy obtained from a local, renewable resource while caring for the surroundings, which have exceptional ecological value.

The total capacity of 500 megawatts (MW) provided by these power plants, following the two extensions carried out in recent years, is enough to supply renewable, emissions-free energy to over 320,000 households in Galicia.

This extension inaugurated today, which is almost completely submerged underground and was completed in record time to reduce the environmental and visual impact to a minimum, also helps boost tourism in the Ribeira Sacra and Cañones del Sil areas, as the reservoirs mean that long stretches of the rivers are navigable by tourist vessels.