New Energy World™
New Energy World™ embraces the whole energy industry as it connects and converges to address the decarbonisation challenge. It covers progress being made across the industry, from the dynamics under way to reduce emissions in oil and gas, through improvements to the efficiency of energy conversion and use, to cutting-edge initiatives in renewable and low-carbon technologies.
Construction of Iberdrola’s Alto Tâmega Hydroelectric Power Plant in Portugal is continuing to progress at a good pace, with filling of the reservoir set to begin soon, the developer has said.
With civil works now almost finished and electromechanical assemblies due to be completed by the end of the year, commissioning will then begin, Iberdrola has announced.
The Alto Tâmega dam is a 104.5 metres high, 220,000 m3 of concrete and 335 metres of crest length, double curvature vault dam. The concreting was carried out in 21 blocks, divided into 2 metre high sections and was completed at the end of 2022.
The river diversion tunnel is set to close this month and in the next three months, a 28 metre long concrete plug will be built inside the tunnel to ensure the closure of the diversion tunnel for the entire life of the facility. During these three months, the flow of the river will continue to circulate through the dam’s bottom outlets.
The Alto Tâmega reservoir, which will cover an area of 468 ha and have a volume of 132 hm3, will then be filled this winter, providing the water needed for the production of renewable electricity at the Alto Tâmega power plant at the foot of the dam, which will have two units with a total generating capacity of 160 MW.
First synchronisation to the grid is scheduled for January 2024, with the plant planned to enter commercial operation in March 2024.
The 160 MW plant is the last of the three developments that make up the Tâmega complex. The other two, Gouvães, an 880 MW pumped-storage plant, and Daivões, with a capacity of 118 MW, have been in commercial operation since 2022.
