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Canal de Isabel II approaches 86% self-sufficiency with new solar plants
Canal de Isabel II has just added nine photovoltaic installations to its infrastructure and raises its energy self-sufficiency capacity to almost 86%. The Madrid public company thus accelerates a rollout using reservoirs, treatment plants and pumping stations to produce part of the electricity it needs where it consumes it.
Among the latest additions are the plants at the Soto del Real reservoir and pumping station, the Miraflores facilities and the La Reguera treatment plant in Móstoles. These new plants are in the final stage of fitting out and will jointly provide nearly four megawatts of power when fully operational.
With the additions made since 2025, Canal now has 43 photovoltaic installations totalling around 21 megawatts. The panels are installed on roofs and land linked to water infrastructure in different municipalities, making use of surfaces already part of the supply and sanitation system.
The electricity produced is used mainly at the facilities themselves. Pumping water, treating it or moving it through the network requires considerable energy consumption, so generating electricity at those same points reduces the amount that must be taken from the conventional grid. When there is surplus production, certain centres can feed it into the electricity system.
Solar power does not work alone either. Some plants are combined with hydroelectric, mini-hydroelectric or systems that make use of the biogas generated during wastewater treatment. This mix makes it possible to produce energy at different times and use processes that are already part of the water cycle.
The photovoltaic rollout will continue in the coming years. The forecast is to reach around 63 facilities and some 43 megawatts of solar power, within a programme involving more than €50 million in investment and partly financed by European funds.
The final objective is set for 2030: for Canal to produce each year as much electricity as it needs to carry out its activity. The company thus aims to become the first major European company dedicated to the integrated water cycle capable of achieving that energy balance.
For people in Madrid, the change will be barely visible from the street, but it happens behind such everyday actions as turning on a tap or flushing the toilet. Reservoirs, pumping stations and treatment plants that traditionally consumed large amounts of electricity are also beginning to produce it, turning the water network itself into an extensive energy network across the Community.