The Minister of the Environment, Cristina Narbona, has visited the facilities of the Los Manueles mini-hydroelectric plant in the Almanzora Valley, Almeria, designed for the recovery of energy in the Negratín-Almanzora pipeline. This action has been developed by the company dependent on the Ministry of the Environment, ACUSUR, currently integrated into ACUAMED with an investment of 3.3 million euros.

The Los Manueles power plant together with the Tíjola plant, which had an investment of 4.4 million euros, are part of the Negratín-Almanzora pipeline which, with a length of 120 kilometres, allows up to a maximum of 50 cubic hectometres of water to be transported per year between the two basins with a flow rate of 2 cubic metres per second.

With the entry into service of both hydroelectric plants, a specific production of close to 1.2 kilowatt hours per cubic meter of water is expected, corresponding to a combined turbine power of 8.1 megawatts. Once the hydroelectric projects come into service, 68 percent energy recovery will be achieved. The income obtained from the electricity production of the two plants will compensate in economic terms for the energy costs resulting from the rise of water from the Guadalquivir basin to the Almanzora basin.