Gijón: the port's BESS batteries will undergo ordinary environmental assessment

The Principality of Asturias has formulated the environmental impact report for the BESS Puerto Gijón battery storage systems and their evacuation infrastructures, determining that the projects must undergo an ordinary environmental impact assessment because they could have significant effects on the environment. The decision was adopted by the Ministry of Mobility, Environment, and Emergency Management through a resolution dated October 20, 2026, published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA) no. 212, dated November 3, 2026.

The file, processed under Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental assessment, began on May 7, 2025, when the Environmental Assessment Service received the documentation submitted by the substantive body: the Ministry of Science, Industry, and Employment, through the General Directorate of Energy and Mining and its Energy Management Service. These are stand-alone energy storage facilities with electrochemical batteries using LFP technology, a case included in Annex II, group 4 (“Energy Industry”), section n) of the state regulation, which justified the initial simplified assessment.

Consultations opened on October 6, 2025, with a 20-day period for administrations and interested parties in accordance with Article 46 of the law. Additionally, an announcement was placed in BOPA no. 200, dated October 17, 2025, for a 20-business-day consultation for unknown interested parties. The report incorporates three annexes containing the project description and its alternatives, the results of public participation, and the technical analysis of the file.

Four systems and two substations

The affected projects, promoted by different owners, are as follows:

• BESS Puerto Gijón, in its four modules 22-1, 22-2, 22-3, and 22-4.
• PB Campa Torres Puerto de Gijón.
• PB IM2 Espumeru Puerto de Gijón.
• The associated evacuation infrastructures, all within the municipality of Gijón.

The resolution also requires the project to undergo simplified integrated environmental authorization, in accordance with Article 31 of Law 1/2023, of March 15, on Environmental Quality. The environmental body acts by virtue of the competencies established by Decree 22/2023, of July 31, on the restructuring of the ministries.

Fires and domino effect in a Seveso environment

The scoping document for the future study requires a detailed analysis of the risk of fire and the emissions that a thermal runaway would generate. Among the requirements are:

• Description of cooling, sensing, alarms, shutdown systems, firewalls, and the water network for extinguishing and cooling.
• Fire tests on containers to confirm or rule out the effect of one on another at specific distances.
• Measurement of gases emitted throughout the event, including an emissions curve.
• Modeling of the dispersion of CO, particles, H2, and HF under different ventilation conditions, with risk levels for mild effects and irreversible effects.
• Evaluation of synergistic and cumulative effects with other facilities in the surrounding area.

The risk analysis must consider the scenarios of the facilities included in the port’s Seveso Directive, including the LPG storage plant of Musel Energy Hub, Exolum, Repsol, and Galp España, as well as the coal deposits and the risk of spontaneous combustion. The study of alternatives will incorporate the Aboño esplanade and will use the risk of accident as the selection criterion.

Emissions, noise, and magnetic fields

In addition to the measures already provided for in the environmental document, the collection of pollutants and firefighting water, the connection to the supply network, the sizing of fire-resistant perimeter walls, and containment systems in accordance with the UNE-EN 13501 standard are added. The installation must comply with NFPA 855 for energy storage systems and have continuous monitoring of thermal emissions.

Immediate communication protocols between adjacent facilities are also required, in accordance with Royal Decree 393/2007, as well as measures to prevent spills or the carry-over of waste into the marine environment. The study will include modeling of noise and electromagnetic emissions.

Environmental monitoring and validity

The environmental monitoring program will verify at least once a year the operation of cooling, sensing, alarms, and shutdown systems, and will check magnetic fields and noise levels at surrounding receptors once the installation enters service. The report will lose its validity if the project does not obtain authorization within a maximum period of four years from its publication, and the resolution orders its publication within ten business days. The full text of the annexes is available on the Principality’s website, in the citizen participation section for environmental procedures.

The ruling clears the way for one of the largest projected energy storage concentrations in Asturias, but it does so via the most demanding route: the promoters must fund fire, gas dispersion, and Seveso studies before obtaining authorization. For the residents and industries of the port area, the report sets in writing which risks must be measured and with which technical standards.

Source: Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias, no. 212, of November 3, 2026, section I (Other Provisions), page 1 (official reference: Code 2026-08734).