BESS Batteries in Pamplona receive favorable environmental report

The General Directorate of the Environment of the Government of Navarra has issued a favorable environmental impact report for the BESS Pamplona Storage (0058-ALM) project, a 2.52 MW battery plant promoted by Granata Green Fv I Sociedad Limitada in the municipality of Valle de Elorz. The decision, signed on July 23, 2026, by the general director Ana Bretaña de la Torre, is published in the Official Gazette of Navarra number 166, dated August 24, 2026, via Resolution 788E/2026.

The report concludes that the project has no significant effects on the environment, although it imposes a series of conditions for its environmental integration, including the protection of the Tierras Negras stream, which borders the installation plot.

A lithium iron phosphate battery storage system

The facility, subject to a simplified environmental impact assessment as it is included in group 4, section n), of Annex II of Law 21/2013, of December 9, on Environmental Assessment, consists of two containerized storage modules using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery technology. Its main technical characteristics are:

• Total storage capacity of 10.03 MWh in direct current (DC), with 5.015 kWh per container.
• Nominal power of 2.52 MW in alternating current (AC), designed for full charge and discharge cycles over four hours.
• Six inverters for bidirectional DC-AC conversion and a 690 V/13.2 kV transformer with GIS technology, free of fluorinated gases.
• An underground medium-voltage line of 13.2 kV and 693 meters in length for evacuation.

The energy will be fed into the granted connection point on the medium-voltage line Line 1 Imarcoain-Potasas, belonging to the STR Imarcoain substation, owned by i-DE Redes Eléctricas Inteligentes, SAU, with an access capacity limited to 2.00 MW (AC).

Location and analysis of alternatives

The installation plot, measuring 90,053.17 m², is currently used for rainfed farming and borders the Tierras Negras stream to the west, with its fencing located 19 meters away. The area occupied by the storage installation is 428.13 m².

Following a multi-criteria analysis of the three proposed alternatives, Alternative A was selected as the best environmentally rated option. Alternative C was discarded due to its closer proximity to the Elorz river and the habitat of community interest HIC 92A0, protected elements whose preservation requires minimizing any impact. Alternative 0, which would generate no effects, was discarded as it would not contribute to the National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC).

During the processing, the Ayuntamiento del Valle de Elorz / Elortzibar, the Sección de Registro, Bienes Muebles y Arqueología, Ekologistak martxan Iruñea-Ecologistas en Acción, Gurelur, the Asociación en defensa de la tierra Lurra, and the Fundación Sustrai Erakuntza were consulted. The Lurra association and the City Council itself responded, and their observations were considered in the technical analysis.

Conditions for environmental integration

The resolution establishes protective and preventive measures for the entire lifespan of the facility, most notably:

• Prohibition of actions affecting the Tierras Negras stream within a minimum radius of 15 meters, with marking of the work area and dry execution during construction.
• Adaptation to the natural topography of the terrain to minimize earthworks.
• Fauna control through mechanical and biological means, with an express prohibition of pesticides, insecticides, and rodenticides.
• Lighting limited to what is essential, of low intensity, and shielded toward the ground.
• Restoration of the affected land within a period of less than one year after the end of operations.

Pursuant to article 47.5 of Law 21/2013, the environmental report shall not be subject to any appeal, without prejudice to those that may proceed through judicial channels. The resolution will be forwarded to the Sección de Infraestructuras Energéticas, the Guarderío de Medio Ambiente, the Ayuntamiento del Valle de Elorz, and the promoter.

The favorable environmental authorization clears the way for a storage project that reinforces the integration of renewables in the Pamplona region, providing flexibility to the grid and reducing CO₂ emissions, while establishing a protection framework for the fluvial environment and the neighborhood of Noáin.

Source: Official Gazette of Navarra, number 166, August 24, 2026, section 1.7 Others, page 30383 (official reference: Resolution 788E/2026, file 0058-ALM).