Dolores Sánchez assumed the presidency of the Spanish Association of Energy Storage (ASEALEN) at a decisive moment for the development of energy storage in Spain .
With the sector awaiting the implementation of the capacity mechanism and the first auctions that will provide stable economic signals to investors, the industrial engineer joins the association after building a career in some of the most advanced electricity markets in Europe.
"Storage in Spain is still taking off compared to other European countries where it is more developed. That has given me a good starting point to be able to apply the knowledge I learned outside of Spain," said the new president of ASEALEN.
After graduating as an industrial engineer specializing in electricity and electronics , Sánchez spent her entire professional career in the electricity sector. Her early years were linked to the operation of energy markets, where she worked in energy trading for five years and gained insight into the operation of wholesale markets.
He then moved into strategic consulting for companies in the energy sector, a phase that, he explains, allowed him to broaden his perspective on how electricity companies operate internationally. Later, he joined the business development team, with projects initially focused on the United Kingdom and Iceland , where he began to delve deeper into the integration of renewable assets into wholesale markets, power purchase agreements (PPAs), and the growing need to incorporate flexibility into the electricity system.
That journey continued at Alpiq , where he has spent seven years in business development positions focused on flexible assets and storage. During the first few years, he primarily worked on opportunities in Germany and France , the most advanced European markets in terms of storage, until about three years ago when he refocused his efforts on Spain. Although initially focused on hydrogen, he quickly moved to lead the search for investment opportunities in energy storage.
"My entire previous experience at Alpiq has helped me to understand very well what value we place on this flexibility, this storage, from an international point of view," Sánchez said.
He added: "We have to learn from all countries. They all have particularities from which we can draw lessons... because each country has its own needs and its own energy mix."
The timing is significant. The Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) sets a target of 22.5 GW of storage capacity by 2030, a goal that will require accelerating the deployment of new facilities and overcoming many of the regulatory and investment barriers currently facing the sector. In this context, the implementation of the capacity mechanism emerges as one of the key tools for providing certainty to investors and facilitating the financing of new projects.
Capacity market: the key to unlocking investments
One of the main milestones for the sector was the recent approval of the capacity mechanism by the European Commission. " This is very positive news because it provides a long-term signal that the sector has been demanding for many years ," said Sánchez.
In his view, this instrument will recognize the value of resources that guarantee both stability and flexibility in the electricity system, facilitate the financing of new projects, and help unlock investment decisions. However, he cautions that the work is not yet finished.
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" It is essential that an implementation schedule be established quickly and urgently so that we can translate those signals into concrete projects ," he stressed.
The sector's expectations are now focused on the pending regulations and the first call for bids under the mechanism. According to forecasts from various industry players, the first capacity market auctions could be held in early 2027 , once the Ministerial Order and the specific resolution defining key aspects such as firmness coefficients and capacity volume limits are approved.
This timeline also aligns with the outlook currently being used by banks, funds, and investors for the Spanish market. Various financial players identify 2027 as a turning point for the profitability of solar energy, in a context marked by increasing price cannibalization and greater market volatility. In this scenario, battery storage emerges as the primary tool for capturing additional value through arbitrage, ancillary services, and, soon, revenues associated with the capacity market.
What are the association's priorities?
Beyond the capacity mechanism, Sánchez believes there are still obstacles preventing the acceleration of storage deployment.
"What is needed are appropriate implementation timelines, adequate recognition of what storage contributes to the system, and a sufficient payback period," the executive noted.
He explained that the main obstacles are regulatory uncertainty, a lack of stable revenue, and administrative delays . He added that, although regulation has advanced significantly over the past two years, there are still legacy regulatory references that are not fully adapted to storage and create uncertainty among developers.
For the new president, another key aspect of her administration will be maintaining the open approach that ASEALEN has historically fostered regarding different energy storage technologies. Far from focusing the debate solely on batteries, she maintains that the sector's development requires leveraging the strengths of each available technological solution.
" There is no single technological solution for storage. All available technologies must be combined in a balanced way ," he states.
In that regard, he explained that, while batteries and pumped storage currently represent the highest level of technological maturity, the association will also continue to promote other alternatives, such as thermal storage and emerging long-life technologies, with the goal of building a more flexible and resilient electrical system.
Looking ahead to the coming years, the new president of ASEALEN says her goal will be to consolidate the work done by the previous leadership and support the sector in what she considers a crucial stage.
" We must consolidate this legacy and take another step: moving from planning to the realization of all the storage power that the system needs ," he said.
With this objective, the new president of ASEALEN hopes her term will coincide with the definitive shift of energy storage from planning to implementation. To achieve this, she considers it essential to consolidate a stable regulatory framework, accelerate the implementation of the capacity market, and recognize the value this technology brings to the electricity system. Only in this way, she maintains, will it be possible to support renewable energy growth with the flexibility, stability, and security of supply that Spain will demand in the coming years.