The Los Guájares pumped-storage hydroelectric plant in Granada has been authorized

The General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines, of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, has granted Hidroeléctrica Los Guájares, SLU the prior administrative authorization and the administrative construction authorization for the «Los Guájares» pumped-storage hydroelectric plant, with 356.93 MW of generating capacity and 363.99 MW of pumping capacity, as well as its evacuation infrastructure. The decision is published in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado) no. 267, of October 28, 2026 (Sec. III, page 144083), via the Resolution of September 16, 2026 with reference BOE-A-2026-22600. The facility is located within the municipal boundaries of Vélez de Benaudalla, El Pinar, and Los Guájares, in the province of Granada.

A file initiated in 2020 with a change of promoter

The procedure began with the application submitted on December 23, 2020 —rectified on February 18, 2021— by Villar Mir Energía, SLU for a pumped-storage hydroelectric plant with 339.95 MW of generating capacity and 403.52 MW of pumping capacity. On September 1, 2025, the promoter communicated the change of corporate name to Hidroeléctrica Los Guájares, SLU.

The file was processed through the Industry and Energy Area of the Government Sub-delegation in Granada, in accordance with Royal Decree 1955/2000, of December 1, and Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental assessment. The public information was published on May 28, 2021, in the “Official Gazette of the Province of Granada” and on June 7, 2021, in the Official State Gazette, with no objections submitted.

The environmental assessment concluded with a favorable environmental impact statement, specified in the Resolution of August 12, 2025, from the General Directorate of Environmental Quality and Assessment, published in the BOE no. 203, of August 23, 2025. The hydroelectric utilization of the Rules reservoir was granted by resolution of June 16, 2020, from the General Directorate of Planning and Water Resources of the Regional Government of Andalusia (Junta de Andalucía), and the National Commission on Markets and Competition issued a report through its Regulatory Supervision Chamber on February 5, 2026.

Storage figures

The consolidated project from March 2026 increases the generating capacity compared to the original design and reduces the pumping capacity. The parameters recorded in the resolution are:

• Turbining capacity: 356.93 MW; pumping capacity: 363.99 MW.
• Access capacity granted by Red Eléctrica de España, SAU: 356.872 MW in generation and 364 MW in demand.
• Lower reservoir: Rules reservoir, with operating levels between +243.30 and +195 meters.
• Upper reservoir: 1.4 hm³ capacity and operating levels between +833 and +823.50 meters.
• Maximum gross head of 638 meters and stored energy of 1.47 GWh.
• Turbining flow of 66.24 m³/s and pumping flow of 50.30 m³/s, with 6 hours of maximum continuous turbining.
• Power plant in a cavern of 52.40 × 36.4 × 44.04 meters, with two vertical-axis reversible Francis turbines at 600 rpm and two synchronous alternators of 225 MVA at 15 kV.
• Overhead evacuation line at 220 kV to the Mizán substation, 6,662 meters long with 25 supports.

Shared evacuation and constraints

The energy will be evacuated via a 220 kV underground line to the “SE CHR Los Guájares 220 kV” substation, in Vélez de Benaudalla, and from there to the SET Mizán. On May 5, 2026, several promoters, including Hidroeléctrica Los Guájares, SLU, signed an agreement for joint and coordinated evacuation at the Saleres 220 kV substation, owned by Red Eléctrica de España, SAU.

During the processing, Enagás, SA warned of impacts on the Granada-Motril gas pipeline, resolved by relocating supports 8 and 16, and Endesa Energía, SA pointed out possible impacts on the plant and the Ízbor canal. The resolution requires favorable reports from the Territorial Delegation for Sustainable Development of Granada and the General Directorate of Water Infrastructure of the Junta de Andalucía for the construction project, in addition to floristic and faunistic surveys, archaeological control, and restoration measures.

Deadlines and appeal

Pursuant to Article 28 of Royal Decree-Law 8/2023, of December 27, as amended by Royal Decree-Law 7/2026, of March 20, the total period to obtain the operating authorization may not exceed twelve years from the access and connection permits. By resolution of July 21, 2025, the administrative milestone of the project was extended until June 24, 2032.

Against the resolution, which does not end the administrative route, an administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed before the holder of the Secretary of State for Energy within one month from the day following its publication. The text is signed by the Director General of Energy Policy and Mines, Manuel García Hernández.

Impact on the electrical system

The authorization consolidates one of the largest pumped-storage projects authorized in Spain, with nearly 357 MW of generation and 1.47 GWh of stored energy, a key technology for managing renewable surpluses and providing backup to the system. The approval comes after nearly six years of processing and with a schedule that sets 2032 as the deadline to certify the start of operations, which conditions the effective execution of the work in the Granada region.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 267, of October 28, 2026, Sec. III, page 144083 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-22600).