The Pracana Complex is Portugal’s 1st onshore project to combine solar PV with an existing hydropower plant, says EDP
It pairs 48 MW of new solar capacity with a 41 MW hydro dam that has been operating since 1951
Together, the hybrid system will generate about 140 GWh per year, enough to supply around 51,800 households
EDP, the Portuguese utility, has energized the Pracana Complex, calling it the 1st onshore hydro and solar energy project in Portugal. The hybrid project combined 48 MW solar PV with an existing 41 MW hydroelectric dam that has been operational since 1951.
Located in the municipalities of Mação and Proença-a-Nova, in the districts of Santarém and Castelo Branco, respectively, the Pracana Complex combines the solar power plant with 90,000 solar panels with the existing infrastructure of the Pracana dam on the Ocreza River.
While the hydropower facility generates 53 GWh/year, the onshore solar project is designed to generate 87 GWh/year. Together, this 89 MW installed capacity will produce 140 GWh/year, sufficient to cover the electricity requirements of 51,800 households, it adds.
The solar facility entered construction in January 2025 and is now integrated with the dam. It uses the hydropower project’s infrastructure, including the distribution network, to take advantage of hybridization, explained EDP, thus reducing operating costs.
“Pracana is another milestone in our strategy: by combining hydropower and onshore solar, we reinforce system stability, accelerate the energy transition, and reduce territorial impact. It is EDP’s first project of this kind globally and proves that innovation and efficiency can go hand in hand,” said Executive Board Member of EDP and Head of the group’s business in the Iberian Peninsula, Pedro Vasconcelos.
This project is EDP’s 6th hybrid project in Portugal and 11th in the Iberian Peninsula.
