Operations have begun at Iberdrola's 2000MW Cortes-La Muela project in Spain - the largest pumped storage scheme in Europe - following an inauguration ceremony attended by HRH the Prince of Asturias.
Located in the Júcar river basin, in the municipality of Cortes de Pallás, Valencia, the project cost over €1.2B and took seven years to build.
“With this inauguration," Iberdrola Chairman Ignacio Galán said, "the Company maintains its commitment to clean energy, particularly to hydro electric power in which we have nearly 10,000 MW capacity worldwide." Earlier this year, the company completed the San Esteban hydropower plant and began construction at the San Pedro hydro scheme, both in the Sil river basin, Galicia.
The project is an extension of the existing La Muela scheme. Its last phase, with 1722MW installed capacity, means the project now has total capacity of 2000MW and is capable of generating around 5000GW/h of electricity per year.
