The European Investment Bank (EIB) is financing one of the most important energy sector initiatives in Portuguese history.
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The EU bank will provide a EUR 650m loan to Iberdrola to support a major hydro electrical project that will increase energy storage capacity in the EU, provide services to the Iberian grid operators and ultimately facilitate the increase of the renewable share of the Portuguese energy mix. This investment will reduce the dependence of the Iberian market on fossil energy as well as CO2 emissions.
Through this agreement with Iberdrola, the EIB is contributing to the construction of three new large dams and hydropower plants, including a pump storage plant, which will be located on the Tâmega and the Torno rivers, in northern Portugal.
With an investment of around EUR 1.5bn, the new Iberdrola's infrastructure will have a total capacity of 1,158 MW and will start operating in 2023. To advance the project’s implementation, the EIB and Iberdrola today signed a EUR 500m loan, the first tranche of the total EUR 650m in funds approved to finance this project.
The Portuguese and Spanish electricity markets will benefit from the new infrastructure. By increasing generation and storage capacity, the new plants will provide more flexibility and security of energy supply on the Iberian electricity market.
The dams (Alto Tâmega, Daivões and Gouvães) are located in the Douro River Basin and are expected to provide an average of 1,760 GWh per year to the Iberian market. Located in a European cohesion region, Iberdrola's project will also foster economic activity and employment.
It will create direct and indirect jobs and will contribute to the economic, social and territorial cohesion of the EU. The project will require hiring up to 13,500 people, including direct and indirect jobs, during the entire construction phase and several hundred in operational phase.
The project is part of the Portuguese National Programme for Dams with High Hydroelectric Potential (PNBEPH). The promoter, Iberdrola, won the concession of the project to design, build and operate the plants following a competitive tendering process. ■
A low pressure wave forming along a cold front will track across the New England coast this morning, bringing a period of rain, heavy at times for much of New England, especially for Maine today.