Iberdrola Will Reach 900 MW in Battery Storage, With the UK and Australia its Mains Markets

Iberdrola is moving forward with innovative renewable energy projects, with the aim of maximizing energy use and continuing to promote the efficient integration of renewable energies into the electricity grid. The energy company continues with the installation of what will be the first wind storage battery in Biscay, which will be commissioned during the month of January 2022. Specifically, at the Abadiño TS, where it evacuates the 6MW Oiz wind farm. It will have a guaranteed storage capacity of 3.5 MWh and Ingeteam will be responsible for its installation.

This project joins the first battery storage system in the country, located in Elgea-Urkilla (32 MW), in Araba -Euskadi-, which has an installed power of 5 MW and 5 MWh of storage capacity.

In Spain, the company has installed the first battery in a photovoltaic plant in Spain, Arañuelo III (40 MW), which it is building in the municipality of Romangordo (Cáceres, Extremadura). The project has a battery with 3 MW of power and 9 MWh of storage capacity and the company in charge of its development has also been Ingeteam.

It is also developing the Puertollano (Ciudad Real) project - the first and largest green hydrogen plant in Europe at present, powered by a 100 MW photovoltaic plant - which will include a lithium-ion battery system with a storage capacity of 20 MWh. In the Canary Islands, Iberdrola will install batteries at the Ifara and El Vallito wind farms in Granadilla de Abona, Tenerife, which will incorporate a storage capacity of 12 MW.

The company has 200 MW of battery power currently under construction or secured, some of which is already installed, rising to 300 MW by 2025, mainly in the UK and Australian markets. The company's current portfolio of battery storage systems amounts to 900 MW. 

KEY TO ADDRESSING THE ENERGY TRANSITION 

Storage systems are key to addressing the challenge of the energy transition and are set to become an essential element in the electricity system of the future because they make it possible to improve the quality of electricity supply, ensure the stability and reliability of the grid and integrate and take advantage of the energy generated by renewable sources.

The company maintains its commitment to storage through pumped storage technology, where it is the leader with more than 4,000 MW of installed capacity, in projects such as Cortes-La Muela (Valencia) - the largest installation of these characteristics in Europe - and Tâmega, under construction in Portugal.

In November 2019, Iberdrola inaugurated the first electrical energy storage system with lithium-ion batteries for distribution networks in Spain. The project, a pioneer in the country and located in the Murcian municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz (Murcia), improves the quality of energy supply in the surrounding area, as well as making the most of the solar energy generated in the area. 

Iberdrola is convinced that the energy transition can act as a key driving force in the transformation of the industrial fabric and in the green recovery of the economy and employment. To this end, the company has launched a historic investment plan of 75 billion euros for the period 2020-2025 -there will be 150 billion by 2030-, with the aim of doubling its renewable capacity and taking advantage of the opportunities of the energy revolution facing the world's major economies.

Investments in Spain for the period amount to around 14.3 billion euros, half of which will go to the development of new renewable projects, while more than 4.5 billion euros will go to strengthening and further digitalising electricity grids.