43.9 MW battery authorized for the Covatillas 3 solar park

The General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines, of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, has granted Planta Solar OPDE 25, SL the prior administrative authorization and the administrative construction authorization for the battery storage module “Hibridación Covatillas 3”, with an installed capacity of 43.90 MW. The decision, adopted by resolution on July 31, 2026, is published in the Official State Gazette (Boletín Oficial del Estado) number 205, dated August 21, 2026, with reference BOE-A-2026-18008.

The project will allow for the hybridization of the existing “Covatillas 3” solar photovoltaic plant, with 48.118 MW, located in the municipality of Castillejo de Iniesta, in the province of Cuenca, forming a hybrid installation with an installed capacity of 92.018 MW. The photovoltaic plant is definitively registered in the Administrative Registry of Electric Energy Production Installations under number RE-115326 and has access and connection permits to the transmission grid at the Minglanilla 400 kV electrical substation, owned by Red Eléctrica de España, SAU.

300 MWh storage with LFP batteries

The storage module will use lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries with a capacity of 300 MWh and a duration of six hours. The operation will allow for the storage of energy coming from the photovoltaic plant as well as energy acquired from the grid, for its subsequent management and delivery back to the grid.

• Installed storage capacity: 43.90 MW.
• Storage capacity: 300 MWh, with a duration of six hours.
• Inverters: 10 DC/AC inverters, with a nominal power of 4.39 MVA.
• Generation access capacity: 41.7 MW; consumption capacity: 43.9 MW.
• 30 kV evacuation line, with a length of 679 m, to the sectioning center of the El Monegrillo 132/30 kV substation.

Processing and regulatory framework

The file was initiated in the Industry and Energy Department of the Government Sub-delegation in Cuenca and was processed in accordance with Royal Decree 1955/2000, of December 1. The initial application, submitted on April 4, 2025, was subject to public consultation on March 16, 2026, in the BOE and in the Official Gazette of the Province of Cuenca, with no objections received.

The processing took advantage of the simplified environmental assessment exemption provided for in Royal Decree 997/2025, of November 5, which approves urgent measures to reinforce the electrical system, exempting the hybridization of storage modules from this procedure in the specified cases. The General Directorate of Environmental Quality and Assessment agreed to terminate the procedure on February 16, 2026.

Deadlines and conditions

The construction authorization is granted with special conditions, including the obligation to report the completion of the works to the competent provincial body to obtain the operating authorization. The developer may request an extension of the deadline to meet the milestones of Royal Decree-Law 23/2020, of June 23, provided that the maximum date for the final operating authorization does not exceed December 31, 2030.

An administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed against this resolution, which does not exhaust administrative remedies, before the Secretary of State for Energy within one month. It is signed by the Director General of Energy Policy and Mines, Manuel García Hernández.

A boost to renewable storage

The authorization reinforces the role of energy storage as a key piece of the renewable transition, by allowing solar energy generated during sunny hours to be managed and delivered to the grid when it is most needed. With a capacity of 300 MWh, the Covatillas 3 module will contribute to the stability of the electrical system and the integration of renewables in the province of Cuenca.

Source: Official State Gazette, no. 205, August 21, 2026, Sec. III, page 116012 (official reference: BOE-A-2026-18008).