Spain consults on 11GW grid access allocation

Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge has opened two consultation processes covering the allocation of up to 11GW of reserved grid access capacity for renewable generation and energy storage projects in Just Transition areas.

The work is being led through the Institute for Just Transition, which is proposing two allocation routes. One covers 15 reserved grid nodes in areas affected by the closure of coal and nuclear generation, while the other would establish a separate competitive process for the Guardo 220kV and Velilla 400kV nodes in Palencia.

The proposals follow a market sounding exercise carried out between April and June to establish the volume and type of projects seeking access at the relevant nodes. Available capacity across the areas under consideration totals up to 11GW, although the consultation concerns the allocation of connection rights rather than the construction of 11GW of new network infrastructure.

For the first group of nodes, the Institute for Just Transition is proposing a simplified competitive procedure under which capacity would be allocated according to the order in which qualifying applications are received. The nodes include Carrio 220kV, Compostilla 220/400kV, Garoña 220kV, Robla 400kV, Lada 400kV, Litoral 400kV, Montearenas 220/400kV, Pinar del Rey 220/400kV, Puentes García Rodríguez 400kV, Puertollano 220kV and Soto de Ribera 220/400kV.

Projects would still have to meet the applicable technical and environmental requirements. Applicants would also make socioeconomic commitments linked to the Just Transition area in which their schemes are developed, tying access allocation to local investment and employment objectives rather than treating network capacity as an isolated commercial right.

Guardo and Velilla would follow a different route. Earlier market sounding identified significant interest in the two Palencia nodes, particularly from reversible pumped hydro projects, prompting a proposed competitive tender that would rank schemes against socioeconomic and environmental criteria alongside the technical conditions governing connection.

Storage and renewable generation place different demands on the transmission system. A renewable generator normally seeks export capacity for output that varies with resource conditions, while a storage project may both import and export electricity and can be dispatched according to system conditions. Pumped hydro adds longer storage duration and a different operating profile from a typical lithium ion battery installation.

The consultation therefore brings generation, storage and scarce connection capacity into the same allocation process. Projects cannot move towards operation solely because land, planning consent or generation equipment is available. Access and connection rights determine whether power can be injected or withdrawn at a particular network point, subject to technical studies and operating limits.

Securing those rights also unlocks a wider equipment programme. Substations, protection systems, switchgear, power transformers, cable systems and controls can move into detailed design and procurement once the intended network interface is established. Projects that fail to secure capacity may need to change location or configuration, or wait for later reinforcement and additional capacity releases.

The reserved nodes also reflect the infrastructure left by generation assets being retired. Transmission systems around large thermal and nuclear stations were built to move substantial quantities of power from relatively concentrated sites. Reallocating parts of that capacity can allow new generation and storage to use elements of the existing network footprint, provided local system studies confirm that the proposed connection can be accommodated.

Interest in pumped storage at Guardo and Velilla adds a further system consideration. Reversible hydro can absorb electricity by pumping water to an upper reservoir and return it through turbines later, shifting substantial volumes of energy over longer periods than most battery projects. Individual schemes still face environmental assessment, major civil engineering requirements and detailed connection studies before any construction decision.

The allocation rules will also influence where investment develops first. Grid access has become a significant constraint across European renewable markets as generation pipelines have grown faster than some transmission and distribution reinforcements. Competitive mechanisms increasingly determine which technically mature projects can progress when several developers are seeking the same network capacity.

Spain’s proposals combine that capacity question with the economic transition of former conventional-generation areas. Using reserved nodes for new energy projects can preserve the strategic role of existing grid infrastructure while changing the technologies connected to it, but the result will depend on project quality as much as available megawatts.

Both consultations are open for observations and proposals from 24 September until 8 October 2026. The next step is procedural rather than physical: establishing the rules under which eligible projects will compete before any final allocation of the reserved capacity is made.