Kantauribai Project

Iberdrola España, through the Company’s Hydropower plant Management, reaffirms its commitment to the environment by collaborating with the LIFE KANTAURIBAI project for the ecological improvement of the Natura 2000 river network in the Bay of Biscay. This initiative is promoted by a consortium with 12 agents, most of them public entities, such as the Provincial Council of Gipuzkoa, the Basque Water Agency (URA), the Cantabrian Hydrographic Confederation or the City Councils of Donostia, Errenteria and Hernani, among others. They will participate in various actions such as improving the conservation of migratory species (salmon, eel, shad, lamprey) and other native species. Iberdrola is the only private energy company supporting this biodiversity protection initiative.

The goal of LIFE KANTAURIBAI project

LIFE KANTAURIBAI is a European project whose general goal is to improve the conservation status of species and habitats linked to the river ecosystem in 15 sites of the Natura 2000 Network, rivers and tributaries that flow into the Bay of Biscay in 5 river basins shared by 3 regions (Navarre, Gipuzkoa and Aquitaine). The following specific goals are pursued:

• Reduce the main threats to salmon in the project area.
  Install an automated control and monitoring system for migratory fish.
• Improve the conservation status of Margaritifera margaritifera, Galemys pyrenaicus and European mink through an ex situ conservation programme and translocations.
• Control and/or eradicate invasive non-native species (American mink, coypu, muskrat and flora).
• Create a body to enable international coordination between the three regions.
• Extend the river network of protected areas in such a way as to guarantee the conservation of the useful surface area for salmon, desman, Margaritifera, European mink and the 91E0* habitat present in the rivers of the Bay of Biscay.

The successful completion of the project will reduce one of the greatest threats to Atlantic salmon and other migratory species − the great river discontinuity. By installing control systems and automated tracking of migratory fish species, monitoring will be carried out with minimal human intervention. It is expected to increase the size of salmon populations by 10%, Margaritifera margaritifera by 5%, and European mink and desman by 10%.

The project also aims to restore 100 ha of alder grove currently occupied by invasive non-native flora species and to reduce the populations of invasive non-native species such as American mink, coypu and muskrat by 90%.

IBERDROLA collaborates in the project by improving the fluvial connectivity of the Urumea River, on the border between Navarre and the Basque Country and by building a fish ladder at the Santiago mini-hydroelectric plant on the Urumea River and a fish counting system, also to see fish. This system will monitor the correct functioning of the infrastructure as well as the behaviour of the salmonid species that are so representative of the area.

Iberdrola's portfolio of hydroelectric facilities

IBERDROLA has more than 13,300 MW of installed capacity worldwide and is a leader in energy storage with 4,000 MW of installed capacity through pumped-storage hydroelectric plants. This is why the Group is committed to this type of plant, which is essential for the energy transition and contributes to sustainability and coexistence with the environment in which they are located.