Rules dam breakthrough: Granada reservoir finally generates clean power

The long-delayed hydroelectric station at the Rules dam has started producing renewable electricity, more than two decades after the reservoir was completed.

A hydroelectric power station at the Rules dam in Granada province has begun generating electricity, bringing a long-running project to life and adding a new source of renewable energy to the Costa Tropical. The launch adds to Spain’s wider move towards cleaner electricity generation, as explored in our report on renewables expansion in Spain and its effect on household energy costs.

The facility, operated by Granada-based energy company Cuerva, is located at the reservoir in Velez de Benaudalla, inland from Motril. Its construction was completed in December 2025, but the station only entered operation on October 27, 2026.

Power for more than 6,000 homes

The €5 million installation has a generating capacity of 4.36 megawatts and is expected to produce around 24,000 megawatt-hours of electricity annually. According to Cuerva’s official announcement of the Rules hydroelectric station, this is equivalent to the average electricity consumption of more than 6,000 households.

Two turbine-generator units convert the energy of water flowing from the reservoir into electricity, which is fed into the national grid.

The company estimates that the station will also help prevent around 11,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year. A further 92 solar panels have been installed to supply electricity for the station’s lighting and auxiliary systems.

Cuerva says the project required years of engineering work because the new generating equipment had to be fitted into the existing dam infrastructure rather than a purpose-built site. More than 15 local companies were involved in the construction, according to the energy firm.

What about the reservoir’s water supply?

The launch comes against the backdrop of longstanding delays to the irrigation infrastructure associated with the Rules reservoir.

Completed in 2004, the dam was intended to support agricultural irrigation and water supplies in the wider area. In November 2023, EWN reported on plans for an Almunecar water supply pipeline linked to the Rules dam, illustrating how long the wider water infrastructure project has been in development.

However, the distribution network needed to deliver water to farmland has taken years to develop, frustrating farmers who have been waiting to benefit fully from the project. In September 2026, the Government announced that work on one major section of the pipeline network had finished, but local irrigators said further sections were still needed. Read the Government’s announcement on the completed Rules water conduits for details.

The new power station represents progress in using the reservoir to generate electricity, but it does not mean the wider irrigation network is complete.

For the Costa Tropical, the distinction matters: renewable electricity is now being produced, while work to make fuller use of the reservoir’s water for agriculture remains a separate challen