EIB and Iberdrola sign two loans totalling €108 million for investment in energy storage infrastructure in Extremadura

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has signed two green loans with the Iberdrola Group: a EUR 50 million loan from its own funds and a EUR 58 million loan from the Regional Resilience Fund (FRA), totalling EUR 108 million, to upgrade the pumping capacity of the Valdecañas hydroelectric complex in Cáceres (Extremadura), which includes the Torrejón and Valdecañas power plants. 

The complex will contribute to guaranteeing the security of energy supply, integration, and management of renewable energy through storage. The Valdecañas plant will have a total installed capacity of 225 MW, a hybridised battery of 15 MW and 7.5 MWh of stored energy. 

The combination of battery and hydroelectric units will increase the aggregate pumping capacity to 313 MW and storage in the Tagus system to 210 GWh. The works to improve pumping capacity will take advantage of the existing infrastructures in the Valdecañas and Torrejón-Tajo reservoirs, without varying operating levels, and the existing transport networks, reducing the impact on the environment. 

The commissioning of the complex will help reduce CO2 emissions and its improvement works generate 165 direct jobs and 500 indirect jobs, promoting skilled employment. The total investment is in a cohesion region with a per capita income below the EU average.  

The project thus contributes to climate action and territorial, economic and social cohesion, two of the Group's eight priorities set out in its Strategic Roadmap for the years 2024-2027, as well as to meeting the objectives of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan for Spain.