24.3 GW
of batteries held grid access permits in Spain at the end of January 2026.
Red Eléctrica, via pv magazine
Analysis
Battery storage and renewables in Spain, from the operator's side.
What I have written and said about Spain's energy transition: why permits are no longer the bottleneck, how data centres change the investment case for storage, and what it takes to turn a project into an operating asset. Each piece links to the original publication.
Own analysis · OMIE data
What a four-hour battery earns in Spain, month by month.
I ran Spain's OMIE day-ahead prices from January 2025 to September 2026 through a simple model of a four-hour battery. The result explains both why the market is excited about storage and why lenders are right to be careful.
The numbers behind it
260 MW
of batteries were connected in Spain in late August 2026.
80%
of a data centre's consumption in each hour must be backed by renewable generation from that same hour under Spain's draft decree.
Up to 11 GW
of grid capacity at Spain's just transition nodes, put to consultation on 23 September 2026.
By theme
Data centres turn storage into a licence condition
Spain's draft decree ties data-centre grid access to hourly renewable matching. Solar alone cannot meet it, so storage moves from optimisation to compliance, with a counterparty that cannot walk away.
- Energy-Storage.NewsColumn by IgnacioSpain is making batteries a licensing condition for data centres, and nobody noticed
- Energía EstratégicaInterviewData centers change the Spanish BESS equation: Long-term PPAs open a new door to financing
- El Español-InvertiaInterviewSigue subiendo la espuma de las baterías en España: ya hay 33 GW con acceso a la red, más que toda la eólica instalada
The pipeline is real, the valuation models are not
Why Spain's battery pipeline deserves a different investment case, and what the market is paying for projects today.
What other markets can skip
Lessons from Spain's years of merchant battery storage for Southeast Europe.
Where independents can compete
Energy storage and predictive maintenance as the niches where independent companies can compete with the utilities.
Building and selling an energy company
From founding Cable Energía to its sales to Shell and Acciona, and what that taught about taking a company to exit.