Central Hidráulica de la Malva

About the museum

The La Malva power station, located in the Somiedo Natural Park beside the Somiedo river, is more than a hundred years old and still generates electricity. It was promoted by the company Saltos de Agua de Somiedo, founded in 1913, from which Hidroeléctrica del Cantábrico emerged; its promoters included José Tartiere y Lenegre, Policarpo Herrero and Narciso Hernández Vaquero. It was built in 1915 and began operating in 1917.

It is fed mainly by the rivers of the Saliencia valley and has four generators made by Escher Wyss and Brown Boveri. The building is an example of early 20th-century industrial architecture: the façade bears the logo “H.C” and the year 1915, and it combines rubble masonry and ashlar, concrete foundations and machine beds, and large windows. It consists of a lower machine hall and a four-storey block for the electrical equipment, as well as administrative offices, workshops and services.

Since 2018, the owning company, EDP, has offered a guided tour programme. The route explains the history of the plant and its role in the Asturian economy, and how it works. It passes through a historic workshop with period machine tools, a control-room simulator and an exhibition set up in the former houses of the director and the employees. The plant is one of the few hydroelectric installations in the world located in a biosphere reserve.

Highlights

• Hydroelectric plant in operation since 1917
• Workshop with period machine tools
• Control-room simulator
• Exhibition in the former houses of the director and employees
• Early 20th-century industrial architecture
• Free guided tours

Permanent exhibition

• Exposición histórica y taller de máquinas-herramienta – Panels on the origins of electricity use and the construction of La Malva, set up in the former houses of the director and employees, and a workshop with period machine tools.

Operated by

EDP

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

The guided visits are free according to EDP; advance booking is compulsory.

Accessibility

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The plant is in the valley of the Somiedo river, in the Somiedo Natural Park, halfway between La Pola and Castro. No street number is published.

Amenities & dining

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit