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Iberdrola España will install six Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) with a combined capacity of 150 MW. This is an innovative solution for the storage and integration of renewable energies into the system. Each project will generate more than 100 green jobs, including the construction and operation phases.

Battery storage technology is becoming increasingly important for maximising the use of clean energy, regulating the grid frequency to within a millisecond and providing back-up capacity at peak energy periods. 

The six new batteries to be built by the company have been recognised as Strategic Projects for Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE), in its renewable energy, green hydrogen and storage (ERHA) division, and will receive 37.5 million in funding. 

The batteries will have lithium-ion technology – the most widespread at present given its performance, technological maturity and cost. These systems will be installed as hybrid technology together with renewable energy sources (in this case with solar); so the photovoltaic plant and the battery will share the same connection point. The projects will be built in Castilla y León, Extremadura, Castilla La Mancha and Andalusia, and each battery will have 25 MW of power and a capacity of 50 MWh. 

In Castilla y León, a battery will be installed in Revilla Vallejera (Burgos), where Iberdrola España completed its first hybrid wind-solar plant in Spain in 2023. 

Extremadura will have two new batteries. The company will install two batteries in the province of Cáceres, where the C. Arañuelo I and II photovoltaic plants are located. 

In Castilla La Mancha, two batteries will be installed in the municipalities of Valverdejo, Alarcón and Olmedilla de Alarcón (Cuenca), where Iberdrola España has solar parks.

The sixth battery will be built in Huelva, in the municipality of Puebla de Guzmán where Iberdrola España has the Andévalo photovoltaic plant – the first facility built with the UNEF Certificate of Excellence. 

Pioneer in addressing the energy transition

Storage systems are key to addressing the challenge of the energy transition and are set to become an essential element in the electricity system by improving the quality of electricity supply – ensuring the stability and reliability of the grid and integrating and harnessing energy generated by renewable sources.

The company is firmly committed to storage through pumped hydroelectric technology, where it is the leader – with more than 4,000 MW of installed capacity – in projects such as Cortes-La Muela (Valencia) and Tâmega (Portugal), which – with an installed capacity of 1,158 MW – is the largest facility of its characteristics in Europe.

In November 2019, Iberdrola España inaugurated the first electrical energy storage system with lithium-ion batteries for distribution networks in Spain. The project – a pioneer in the country and located in the Murcian municipality of Caravaca de la Cruz (Murcia) – improves the quality of energy supply in the surrounding area, as well as making the most of the solar energy generated in the area.

Iberdrola España was also a pioneer in the installation of batteries together with renewable sources. This is the case of the Campo Arañuelo III installation, which was the first battery connected to a photovoltaic project. 

For its part, the Puertollano battery, with a capacity of 20 MWh, stores the production obtained from a nearby solar plant to generate the green hydrogen of the largest plant of this energy source for industrial use in Europe. 

The company also has a stand-alone system in Abadiño (Vizcaya), which allows it to connect directly to the grid and operate without the need to be connected to a facility. In this way, it manages to decongest the grid and store surplus energy at times of maximum generation to be used when it is most needed. Specifically, this battery is connected to the evacuation of the Oiz wind farm. 

Furthermore, in the Basque Country, Iberdrola España has the first battery in Spain to store wind energy at the Elgea-Urkilla wind farm.

Technology for the environment

By using two technologies capable of alternating (hybrid systems), dependence on changing environmental conditions and limitations is significantly decreased due to possible lack of resources such as wind or sunshine – facilitating more stable and efficient renewable production.

In addition, hybrid generation plants use the same grid connection point and share infrastructures, such as the substation and the evacuation line for the electricity produced. In addition, they are located on land that was already used for renewable generation and allows for common roads and facilities for the operation of both technologies. All of this results in a much lower environmental impact than would have been the case with two independent plants.