23,000
Equivalent households
CLEAN, NON-POLLUTING ENERGY
Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all
1 in 8 people still do not have access to electricity. In order to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all, it is necessary to increase the use of renewable energy from 25 % today to 38 % in 2025.
ACCIONA is positioning itself as a key player in addressing the growth in energy demand while curbing the progress of global warming and promoting the transition to a decarbonized energy model.
CLIMATE ACTION
Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
The generation and use of energy is responsible for 74 % of total greenhouse gas emissions in the world. This activity is the largest contributor to global warming. Investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and other low carbon technologies will continue to be essential to meet the new needs of humanity and to minimise their negative impact on the environment.
ACCIONA considers the fight against climate change and its related effects to be a strategic priority. The Company is working to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in order to contribute to the progress of society and respond to the main challenges of sustainable development in the areas of infrastructure, water and energy, leading the transition to a low-carbon economy.
A hydro plant with a capacity of 88.85 megawatts (MW) in the form of a reversible pumping station with three sets consisting of an alternator, a turbine and a pump. It can supply clean energy to more than 16,000 homes. It has two reservoirs to complete the pump-turbine circuit. The higher reservoir is a lake (the Lake of Ip) whose level has been raised through infilling with loose materials to a maximum height above foundations of 28m, a crown length of 235m and a spillway capacity of 87 m3/s. It has a capacity of 5.3 hm3 (Lake of Ip). The lower reservoir (the Canfranc counter-reservoir) has a capacity of 0.43 hm3. It has a 32.2-meter-high buttressed-wall dam located on the river Aragon.
GENERAL INFORMATION
- Location: Canfranc Estación. Huesca. Spain.
- Capacity: 88.85MW (turbined), 99 MW (pumping).
- River basin: Aragón.
- Type: Pumping station.
- Start-up: 1969.
- Flow through the turbine: 9.9 m3/s.
- Type of turbine: Vertical Pelton (3).
- Pump: Four stage (3).
- Net water fall: 935 m.
- Owner: ACCIONA.
KEY POINTS
- The plant pumps water up to the upper reservoir when there is a surplus of energy, storing it to generate power when needed. This helps to achieve a higher integration of renewable energies into the system.
- A fall of almost 1,000 meters, the biggest in Europe when it was opened.
- The upper reservoir has a high-mountain dam (2,119 meters above sea level).
- The power station building was designed by the architect Miguel Fisac.
Key figures
88.85
MW (turbined)
99
MW (pumping)
9,9 m3/s
Flow through the turbine
925,443
tons of CO2 into the atmosphere avoided
935 m
Net water fall
+16,000
equivalent households
VIDEO GALLERY
Experience | Renewable Energy
The challenge of storing renewable energy
Thanks to the system of pumped storage, ACCIONA is able to respond to this challenge while fully respecting European Union directives that advocate the installation of ‘reversible’ hydro stations whenever possible.