Recently, the completion ceremony of the Tâmega Gigabattery project in Portugal was held. This is a large-scale hydroelectric energy storage project. The construction took nearly 8 years and the investment exceeded 1.5 billion euros.
The Tâmega power project has an installed capacity of 1,158 MW and is capable of storing 40 million kWh of electricity, equivalent to the energy consumption of 11 million people in their homes for 24 hours, making it one of the largest energy storage systems in Europe.
The complex consists of three power plants – Alto Tâmega, Daivões and Gouvâes – in addition, based on its water pumping capacity, energy can be stored for use when it is most needed; cycles of energy efficiency and a true circular economy will increase Portugal’s total installed capacity and achieve annual reductions of 1.2 million tons of CO2 - thanks to renewable energy sources that can be integrated into the system - to more efficiently address climate change.
This major engineering project involving thousands of people will enable Portugal to import more than 160,000 tons of oil each year, cementing its position as a socio-economic and job-creating driver in the region.
In addition, the construction of the Daxin Power Complex project in this region of northern Portugal has also been accompanied by a social, cultural and environmental action plan, benefiting seven Portuguese cities, for which more than 50 million euros have been invested.
The development of this large-scale power complex was made possible thanks to the legal stability and good dialogue achieved by the Portuguese government in recent years. Furthermore, the infrastructure shows that the two main goals of European energy policy, energy independence and decarbonization, are fully compatible as long as efforts are made to electrify the economy and production systems.
Based on this project, Spanish energy and infrastructure giant Iberdrola will continue its sustainable growth strategy, positioning itself as the largest power company in Europe, investing 140 billion euros in the past 20 years and sourcing related products and services from more than 19,000 companies , and created 400,000 jobs through these companies. In terms of tax contribution alone, Iberdrola pays more than 8 billion euros in taxes every year in more than 30 countries around the world.
