Montalegre, Portugal, May 14, 2026 (Lusa) – Spanish energy giant Iberdrola has begun commissioning the Tamega North Wind Farm, which combines wind and hydropower in a project considered “pioneering” that operates in conjunction with the dams of the Tamega hydroelectric system.
The Tâmega North Wind Farm was built in northern Portugal and is connected to the Tâmega South Wind Farm, which is currently being installed in the Vila Real district of northern Portugal.
In a statement, Iberdrola announced that it has begun commissioning what it described as “Portugal’s first wind-hydroelectric project”, saying that they form part of the “first grid-connected hybrid project in Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula”.
Commissioning is underway gradually, with some wind turbines already generating energy and others set to come online in the coming weeks.
The two wind farms (north and south) will be connected to the hydroelectric system, which includes the hydroelectric power stations and the Daivões, Gouvães and Alto Tâmega dams with pumped-storage facilities.
This combination, according to the company, allows both technologies to complement each other by using shared infrastructure and to store energy for release when the system requires it.
Iberdrola explained that hybridisation facilitates the sharing of grid connection infrastructure, reduces environmental impact and improves the stability of the electricity system, accelerating electrification.
Tâmega North's annual output will be approximately 414 gigawatt-hours (GWh), while Tâmega South, currently under construction, will produce 185 GWh.
The connection is made through the power utility REN node at Ribeira de Pena: to the north from the Daivões substation and to the south from Gouvães.
The total investment associated with the two wind farms amounts to €346 million, of which €237 million is for Tâmega North and €109 million for Tâmega South.
Iberdrola’s initial proposal was to install 73 wind turbines, but the company subsequently revised this to 60.
In March 2024, the Portuguese Environment Agency issued a favourable but conditional Environmental Impact Statement, reducing the number of wind turbines to 38.
Tâmega North has a capacity of 195 megawatts (MW), distributed across 27 state-of-the-art Vestas wind turbines, each with a capacity of 7.2 megawatts (MW).
Iberdrola said that the project’s implementation complied with environmental restrictions during the breeding season of certain species, which influenced the construction schedule during the spring and summer months.
“This also meant that work took place during harsher weather months, facing storms such as those in January and February,” it added.
During construction peaks, the project employed between 450 and 500 workers across all civil engineering works in the northern and southern areas, at the substations, and within Vestas's scope of operations, the company responsible for supplying and installing the wind turbines.
The 85-metre blades of the wind turbines were transported using a blade lifter, a system that allows them to navigate tighter bends and steeper gradients.
PLI/MYAL // ADB.
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