Spanish climate plan mandates 6GW-by-2030 boost for energy storage

Upcoming snap elections in Spain will decide whether newly-proposed measures including a nation-wide 6GW boost to energy storage become a reality.

Draft climate change legislation green-lighted by Spanish ministers last Friday mandates a 3.5GW increase in pumped storage capacity by 2030.

This, according to the legislative package tabled by Pedro Sánchez’s socialist government, would be complemented by a further 2.5GW in energy storage batteries by the same year.

These batteries, the government says, should come with at least two hours’ worth of storage potential at peak load. They could be promoted through dedicated auctions, where the variable on offer would be the additional annual remuneration granted per capacity unit (MW or MWh, alternatively).

The energy storage proposals are part of a broader, sweeping clean energy roadmap which would have Spain reach fully renewable power generation and 90% lower greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.

However ambitious, the package remains a statement of intent at this stage as it will not be debated by Spanish MPs before the country holds snap elections of 28 April 2019. Only the government resulting from the polls can decide whether to press forward with the proposals, opening them to a parliamentary vote.

Source: energy-storage.news