Spanish climate plan mandates 6GW-by-2030 boost for energy storage

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
The plan emerges two months before Spain elects a new government on 28 April 2019 (Credit: La Moncloa)

Upcoming snap elections in Spain will decide whether newly-proposed measures including a nation-wide 6GW boost to energy storage become a reality.

Draft climate change legislation green-lighted by Spanish ministers last Friday mandates a 3.5GW increase in pumped storage capacity by 2030.

This, according to the legislative package tabled by Pedro Sánchez’s socialist government, would be complemented by a further 2.5GW in energy storage batteries by the same year.

These batteries, the government says, should come with at least two hours’ worth of storage potential at peak load. They could be promoted through dedicated auctions, where the variable on offer would be the additional annual remuneration granted per capacity unit (MW or MWh, alternatively).

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

The energy storage proposals are part of a broader, sweeping clean energy roadmap which would have Spain reach fully renewable power generation and 90% lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

However ambitious, the package remains a statement of intent at this stage as it will not be debated by Spanish MPs before the country holds snap elections of 28 April 2019. Only the government resulting from the polls can decide whether to press forward with the proposals, opening them to a parliamentary vote.

See here for the full story as initially published on our sister publication PV Tech.

Read Next

June 12, 2026
The Czech Republic’s fourth pumped hydro energy storage plant is to be built within an existing hydropower complex, converting convention run-of-river into reversible units, creating 750MWh of energy storage capacity.
June 11, 2026
IPP Greenvolt has put a 99.8MW/288.6MWh BESS into commercial operation in Hungary, the largest in the country, while pipelines and projects have been progressed in Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium and Spain.
June 11, 2026
There is a big gap in the industry’s understanding of the Spanish energy storage market, but that gap also creates opportunities for smart operators, writes Ignacio López Martín, chair of developer Capflex Energía.
June 11, 2026
DNV has independently verified that Fluence’s global fleet of battery energy storage systems (BESS) achieved 98.7% MW-weighted availability.
June 9, 2026
New Zealand’s Meridian Energy has received a draft decision proposing to ease access restrictions on contingent hydro storage at Lake Pūkaki.