One in Three Photovoltaic Projects Filed in October Now Includes Batteries

In a new monthly collaboration, Sondea exclusively compiles for pv magazine all photovoltaic, hybridization, and storage projects undergoing administrative processing in Spain last month, with data extracted from all official gazettes.

October was the month of batteries in renewable energy administrative processing. The Official State Gazette (BOE) and regional official gazettes published procedures for 273 projects that month, with 6,452 MW declared in their announcements. Of these, 165 include photovoltaics and 103 include battery storage, according to data from Sondeva Renovables, which compiles processing announcements from fifteen official gazettes daily.

The growth in storage is the most striking figure. Within the same scope of gazettes, projects with batteries that had any published procedure increased from 30 in October 2025 to 52 in September of this year and to 89 in October: three times the number from twelve months ago.

Batteries are arriving alongside photovoltaics

Most of that storage is deployed alongside a solar plant. Within the same scope of filings, 34% of photovoltaic projects with procedures underway in October include batteries; in October 2025, this figure was less than 6% (11 out of 198). Considering all filings, 60 out of 165 projects include batteries. Independent battery projects, with no other technology in the same file, total 39, and four others combine batteries with wind power.

The hybridization of existing plants accounts for a significant portion of this shift. Of the files explicitly presented as hybridization projects, 41 added batteries in October, compared to 11 a year earlier.

Construction permits published during the month follow the same pattern. Among them are the permit for Khons Sun Power’s Tagus 2 HBESS system, featuring 176.44 MW of batteries alongside the 224.4 MW Tagus 2 photovoltaic plant in Toledo; three battery modules of 26.74 MW from OPDE subsidiaries to hybridize existing solar plants in Teruel and Zaragoza (Los Arcos, Montesol, and Los Belos); and two modules of 19.8 MW from Naturgy in Tabernas (Almería). In total, 17 projects with batteries obtained construction permits, either at the national or regional level, in October.

Castilla-La Mancha, Aragon, and the Canary Islands

By region, Castilla-La Mancha recorded the highest number of battery-integrated projects in October (24), followed by Aragon and the Canary Islands (16 each) and Castilla y León (15). The projects in the Canary Islands involve standalone batteries of 10 MW or less, as declared in their public notices, which the regional government has made available for public comment. Across all technologies, Aragon (52 projects), Castilla y León (49) and Castilla-La Mancha (48) led in project activity for the month, while Castilla-La Mancha also topped the list in total capacity, with 1,633 MW.

Projects are also getting larger. The median capacity of projects undergoing administrative procedures in October was 19.9 MW, compared with 13.6 MW in September and 6.8 MW in October 2025, based on the same scope of public notices.

Two pumped-storage power plants

Pumped storage also made progress. The Los Guájares reversible hydroelectric plant in Granada, with a turbine capacity of 356.93 MW and a pumping capacity of 363.99 MW, obtained prior administrative and construction authorization. In Cantabria, the process for drawing up prior records for the occupation of the Aguayo II lands and the expansion of the Aguayo plant, with a turbine capacity of 1,014 MW and a pumping capacity of 1,181 MW, was initiated: a prerequisite for expropriation. In total, eight pumped storage projects are currently in the approval process in Spain, with a combined capacity exceeding 4,400 MW.

Many batteries in the approval process, few with construction permits

As of November 1, there are 714 active battery projects in Spain: 318 standalone and 396 paired with other technologies, 357 of which are combined with solar photovoltaics. Most are still in the early stages: 393 have public information as their last published procedure, and 156 have environmental assessment. Only 92, or 13%, have reached construction authorization or declaration of public utility. Among standalone batteries, 22 out of 318, or 7%, have reached this stage, and among hybrid projects with solar photovoltaics, 62 out of 357.

The 186 standalone batteries that declare their capacity total 4,767 MW. In terms of the number of projects with batteries, Castilla y León (113), the Canary Islands (87), Aragon (85), and Extremadura (80) lead the list; in terms of declared capacity in their announcements, Aragon (3,843 MW), Castilla-La Mancha (2,586 MW), and Andalusia (2,439 MW) top the rankings.

Seven out of ten, outside the Official State Gazette

Much of this trend does not go through the Official State Gazette (BOE). Of the 103 battery projects undergoing procedures in October, 74 were published only that month in regional bulletins; across all technologies, 199 out of 273. The BOE primarily covers projects exceeding 50 MW, for which authorization falls under the central government; smaller-scale batteries are mostly processed by the autonomous communities.

Denials and withdrawals

Conversely, 14 projects totaling 344 MW were denied in October: six due to an unfavorable environmental impact statement, three due to the expiration of their grid access permits, and the rest for other reasons. Eight other developers withdrew their applications, including Enel Green Power España with the 110.7 MW El Clavel solar project in Albacete.

How it was measured

Data from Sondeva Renovables as of November 1, 2026. The monthly counts include projects with at least one procedural announcement published between October 1 and October 31, 2026, in the BOE or in regional official gazettes. A project with multiple announcements is counted only once, and its capacity is the highest value declared in its announcements (in the case of hybridization, this may refer to the entire plant); 96 of the 273 projects do not specify this figure. Comparisons with previous months exclude projects published only in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, which has been included in the analysis since September 21, 2026. Catalonia, the Balearic Islands, and the Region of Murcia are represented by data published in the BOE. Counts by technology, phase, capacity, and autonomous community can be consulted at renovables.sondeva.es.

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