EDP will add 3 MW of capacity at the Rioseco hydroelectric plant in 2026
EDP has made the final investment decision for its renewable energy project at the Rioseco dam in Sobrescobio. This is a new hydroelectric power station with an installed capacity of 3.2 MW, requiring an investment of around €8 million.
This project has been one of those selected for funding by the Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE), under the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, as part of the Innovative Renewable Energy and Storage Projects programme (thermal systems and innovative renewable energies). It has granted the initiative €4.2 million in aid from NextGenerationEU funds.
This new run-of-river power station will come into operation in 2026 and will generate enough electricity each year to power approximately 2,000 homes (around 8 GWh/year).
The new renewable facility will be commissioned in a space where construction was already planned when the dam was designed and built in the late 1970s. In fact, since its inception, it has already had the two pipes that will carry water—up to 20,000 litres per second—from the Rioseco reservoir to the two generator units of the new power station. This same reservoir also serves as a lower reservoir for pumping at the Tanes power station.
Each cross-flow generator set will have a power output of 1.6 MW. Furthermore, as it is 100% renewable energy, it will prevent the emission of approximately 1,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.
Given that risk prevention and the safety of people and the environment is a priority for EDP, all work will be planned and executed in compliance with the highest safety standards for both people and the environment, with continuous coordination, inspection and monitoring to ensure that there are no preventive and/or environmental issues, with strong involvement from teams and partner companies. All this will contribute decisively to the success of the project.
Power generation in hydraulic power plants is the origin of EDP, since September 1917 when La Malva plant in Somiedo began operating. This facility, which continues to generate energy as it did on its first day, joins the other 10 hydroelectric power stations that EDP currently operates in the region: Proaza, Tanes, Priañes, Salime, Miranda, Caño, San Isidro, Laviana, La Florida and La Barca. In total, they have an installed capacity of 425 MW and generate an average of 880 GWh per year, enough electricity to supply 250,000 households per year.From 2026, this new facility in Rioseco will be added.
