EDP to add 3.2 mw hydropower plant at Rioseco dam by 2026

EDP has sanctioned an EUR 8 million investment to develop a 3.2 MW hydroelectric facility at the Rioseco dam in Asturias, Spain. Supported by EUR 4.2 million in NextGenerationEU funding, the plant will add 8 GWh of annual renewable generation capacity from 2026.

EDP has reached final investment decision on a new 3.2 MW hydropower facility at the Rioseco dam in Sobrescobio, Asturias, expanding its renewable generation footprint in northern Spain. The EUR 8 million development has secured EUR 4.2 million in financial support from the European Union’s NextGenerationEU program through Spain’s Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), according to company disclosures.

Scheduled to commence operations in 2026, the plant is expected to generate approximately 8 GWh of electricity annually and avoid around 1,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year. The installation will utilize infrastructure foreseen in the dam’s original late-1970s design, optimizing existing civil works and reducing incremental environmental impact.

Water flows of up to 20,000 liters per second will be conveyed through established conduits to two 1.6 MW cross-flow turbines. The Rioseco reservoir functions as the lower basin of the Tanes pumped-storage system, allowing the new unit to integrate into an established water management and grid-balancing framework.

The investment reflects continued deployment of small-scale hydro assets across Spain, where modernization of legacy infrastructure and EU-backed funding mechanisms are supporting incremental renewable capacity additions. For utilities and infrastructure investors, the project underscores the role of repurposed hydro sites in delivering low-carbon generation with limited permitting and construction risk.