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A reversible hydro plant with a capacity of 88.85 megawatts (MW) located in the heart of the Pyrenees in Aragon.

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.

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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 Energy.

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.

MORE INFO: ACCIONA EXPERIENCE. MEETING THE CHALLENGE OF STORING RENEWABLE ENERGY