Voith Hydro equips new hydro power plant in Spain

A new hydro power plant in Spanish Galicia will produce green energy with machines from Heidenheim from 2012 onwards. Spanish utility Iberdrola ordered a Francis turbine, a vertical generator and a 32 meter long steel liner for its new hydro power plant San Esteban II. The order value adds up to round about €24m Euros.

San Esteban II will be built at the Rio Sil, the left tributary of the Rio Miño. It will be commissioned end of 2012 and, with 177 MW, supplement the capacity of the already existing hydro power plant San Esteban. San Esteban was commissioned in 1957 and has a capacity of 265 MW. The new unit for San Esteban II will be installed in a new power house which will be built as cavern in the mountain. The upper reservoir will be shared by both plants.

"With this award, Iberdrola again expressed their trust in Voith Hydro's technical solutions and capabilities", said Martin Andrae, chairman of the board of management of the German Operating Unit of Voith Hydro: "Last year we worked together on a new hydro scheme. By 2012, we will supply four new pumpturbines with an overall capacity of around 850 MW for La Muela II."

Iberdrola is one of Spain's biggest utilities. With around 8,800 MW Iberdrola provides the lion's share of Spain's installed hydro capacity. At the moment, the company plans a new hydro scheme in Portugal at the Alto Tamego river. It will be one of the largest in Europe for 25 years. Alto Tamego will have an overall capacity of 1,200 MW and is supposed to meet the energy demands of around one million people.

The new power plant will increase San Esteban's capacity by one third in 2012