Spain is accelerating the development of long-duration energy storage. The Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), through the IDAE (Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving), has awarded €165 million to promote seven pumped-storage hydroelectric projects , after increasing the initial budget of the call for proposals due to high interest from the sector.
The funding for the BORALMAC 2 program increased from EUR 90 million to EUR 165 million , an increase of EUR 75 million (83%) , with the aim of supporting a greater number of projects submitted in this second edition financed with resources from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR).
The selected projects will add 2071 MW of generation power and provide 21091 MWh of storage capacity , reinforcing the flexibility of the Spanish electricity system in a context of increasing penetration of renewable energies.
The power plants that will benefit are located in Andalusia, Asturias (two projects), Aragon, Extremadura, Catalonia, and Galicia . Six are new pumped-storage hydroelectric plants, while the Extremadura project will utilize existing infrastructure to expand storage capacity.
Pumped storage gains prominence in Spain's energy strategy
The new call reinforces the Government's commitment to hydroelectric storage as one of the key technologies to achieve the objectives of the PNIEC and the Energy Storage Strategy .
It's worth recalling that the first edition of the BORALMAC program awarded €100 million to four projects that will add more than 2 GW of new pumped storage capacity. With this second call for proposals, the government aims to accelerate the deployment of infrastructure that will allow for the absorption of more renewable energy generation and reduce energy curtailment.
During the selection process, IDAE evaluated not only the economic viability of the proposals, but also their capacity to facilitate the integration of renewable energies, their degree of administrative development and criteria linked to territorial impact, innovation, the industrial value chain, the just transition and the demographic challenge.
In addition, the agency may advance part or all of the aid granted, after establishing guarantees, to facilitate financing and accelerate the execution of the projects.
Pumped-storage hydroelectric plants are considered a cornerstone of long-term energy storage, as they allow for the storage of surplus renewable energy generation during off-peak hours and the return of that energy to the grid when the system needs it. In this way, they contribute to improving security of supply, increasing operational flexibility, and advancing towards the decarbonization targets set for 2050.