Catalonia leads electricity storage projects in Spain

BarcelonaDespite the delay in the development of renewable energies in Catalonia, Two elements suggest that progress is beginning to be madeOn the one hand, Catalonia is no longer the Spanish region at the tail end of new green generation projects, and on the other, in the first quarter of this year, it has become the leading region in the country in storage projects.

Storage is key to the development of clean energy, because photovoltaic energy does not produce energy at night, while wind generation only occurs when the wind blows. Therefore, to ensure supply, especially if nuclear power plants are shut down between 2027 and 2035 as planned, it is necessary to have storage systems to avoid blackouts or to implement combined gas cycles that would increase, rather than reduce, CO₂ emissions.

Thus, according to data collected by Opina 360 for the Sella Forum, which analyzes the situation of renewable energy in Spain quarterly, in Catalonia in the first quarter of 2025 there were 82.4 megawatts (MW) of storage projects in the public information process, across eight different projects. Of these projects, 50.9 MW are being processed by the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the other 31.5 MW are being carried out by the Generalitat (Generalitat). In the whole of Spain, there were 299 MW in the public information phase.

Thus, Catalonia leads the projects in this processing phase, ahead of Aragon, which, with much more renewable generation in operation, has 61 MW of storage in public information, while the third region is Navarre, with 37.6 MW in the public information phase.

However, Catalonia is far from achieving its electricity storage targets defined in the Catalan Energy Outlook (Proencat), the roadmap for the energy transition in the Principality. According to data from Red Eléctrica, Catalonia had 534 MW of storage capacity at the end of 2024, and the target for 2030 is 2,234 MW. This means that this capacity to store electricity must quadruple in five years. "Achieving this level of development of renewable energy and storage projects in Catalonia by 2030 seems like a pipe dream," warns the consulting firm PwC in a report on the Catalan energy system.

This consulting firm believes achieving the targets is impossible, primarily "due to the difficulty of obtaining administrative and environmental permits, social opposition, and the risks inherent in this type of project."

There are basically two electricity storage technologies: pumped storage and batteries. In the first case, these are hydroelectric plants that produce energy with a waterfall, but this liquid does not then follow the course of the river. Instead, it is pumped back to the upper reservoir from a lower reservoir when there is surplus energy. This allows, for example, electricity to be produced with hydraulic technology at night, but during the day the water can be pumped back up to the upper reservoir with the surplus photovoltaic energy. The other system, battery technology, is a technology currently being developed.

According to data from Red Eléctrica, the current 534 MW of storage in Catalonia is pumped storage, while there are zero MW of batteries. And to achieve the 2030 target, the plan is to develop 4,500 new MW of pumped storage and 200 of batteries. This development would allow for 2,234 MW of storage within five years, of which 2,034 MW would be pumped storage and 200 MW of batteries.

Improvement in renewables

Meanwhile, the development of renewable energy in Catalonia is gradually improving. During the first quarter, administrative construction permits were granted for 171.3 MW of renewable energy in 12 projects, according to data published in the Official State Gazette (BOE) and the Diari Oficial de la Generalitat (DOGC).

These figures place Catalonia as the region with the fifth highest authorized green power capacity in the first quarter, behind Castilla-La Mancha, Aragon, Castilla y León, and the Valencian Community. Furthermore, the new capacity approved in Catalonia represents 5.7% of the total authorized in Spain between January and March, which reached 3,019.5 MW.

Photovoltaic energy monopolized this advance of green energy this quarter in Catalonia. Furthermore, continuing the 2024 trend, all construction permits were granted by the Generalitat (Catalan government), as the Ministry for Ecological Transition did not issue any such permits in Catalonia. "In Catalonia, as in Spain as a whole, we have observed a certain slowdown in the volume of capacity with construction permits," notes Juan Francisco Caro, director of Opina 360. "Perhaps this is a consequence of the efforts that the administrations made in the third quarter of last year to prevent the expiration of many projects. But to achieve the ecological transition objectives, it is essential that this trend not become more pronounced throughout the year," explains Caro.