The opening of the new plant increases the company’s installed gas capacity in mainland Spain and Portugal by more than 50%.A total of Euro 367 million has been invested in the 860MW plant, which has two gas turbines and one steam turbine.As Pontes has become the main generation complex in Spain, with coal, gas, wind and hydro thermal capacity.


The As Pontes de García Rodríguez (A Coruña) combined cycle plant came on stream today, increasing ENDESA’s generation assets by 860MW. The opening of the new plant boosts the company’s installed gas capacity in mainland Spain by more than 50%.

The new plant is located beside a 1,400MW coal-fired plant with which it shares some infrastructure, facilitating the implementation of the project and minimising its environmental impact. ENDESA also has 161MW of wind and 60MW of hydro capacity at the site, making it the largest generation complex in Spain.

With a total investment of Euro 367 million, construction of the As Pontes combined cycle plant got underway in autumn 2005 and required 2.6 million man hours. It comprises two gas turbines and one steam turbine, with three independent generators, giving it a high degree of operating flexibility. This equipment is manufactured by General Electric and is the most up-to-date on the market in its class.

Although the main fuel is natural gas, the plant can also use gas oil in emergencies. In addition to this unique feature, it is also the first non-monoaxle combined cycle plant in mainland Spain and Portugal.

The new As Pontes plant is fed by a regasification plant situated in the Ferrol ria, to which it is linked by a 30-km gas pipeline. ENDESA has a contract with this terminal for an annual capacity 0.8 bcm, i.e. 800 million cubic metres of natural gas. The plant is owned by Reganosa, a company in which ENDESA is the largest partner and which is made viable by the new combined cycle power plant.

As it is situated alongside the pre-existing coal-fired facility, it shares this plant’s infrastructure for water collection from the Eume river, thereby avoiding an additional environmental impact. It has also used the site of the 400 kV substation for the coal-fired plant for a substation it uses to evacuate the power produced by the combined cycle plant.

The site also has space to accommodate another combined cycle plant of similar dimensions if required in the future. The supply of natural gas is also guaranteed through Reganosa.

ENDESA has another four combined cycle plants in Spain and Portugal, each with an installed capacity of 400MW. These are the Colón 4 (Huelva), San Roque 2 (Cádiz), Besós 3 (Barcelona) and Tarragona 1 facilities. ENDESA is also constructing Besós 5, which has the same output as As Pontes.