Industry authorizes a 5-megawatt battery storage facility i…

The Regional Ministry of Science, Industry, and Employment of the Principality of Asturias has authorized the installation of the PB IM2 Faisán electrical storage facility, with 5 MW of power and 24 MWh of capacity, in the La Lloreda industrial estate, in the municipality of Gijón. The resolution was signed on October 27, 2026, by delegation of the Director General of Energy and Mining and was published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA) no. 215, dated November 6, 2026, under reference Code 2026-08960. The file, processed under number AUTO/2023/15026 (AT-10858) at the request of IM2 Energía Solar Proyecto 7 S. L., recorded no objections during the public information period.

Prior and construction authorization in a single act

The text resolves in a single act the prior administrative authorization and the administrative construction authorization of the plant, after the promoting company submitted its initial application to the Ministry on September 20, 2024. Admission for processing occurred on September 23, 2024, at which time the project excerpts were sent to the affected administrations and public service companies to establish their technical conditions.

The applied framework is Title VII of Royal Decree 1955/2000, of December 1, which regulates the authorization procedures for electrical energy installations, together with Law 24/2013, of December 26, on the Electricity Sector, which recognizes storage as an activity intended for supply. The resolution also recalls Directive (EU) 2019/944, amended by Directive (EU) 2024/1711, which positions storage as an integrated activity of the internal electricity market, and Regulation (EU) 2023/1542 on batteries and waste batteries. The Ministry’s competence derives from Decree 49/2025, of April 29, on basic organic structure, and from the delegation approved by Resolution of May 19, 2025.

The relocation from the initial SOGEPSA plot

The preliminary project processed in 2024 located the installation on the plot with cadastral reference 0526302TP8202N0001XD, on the Avenida de la Economía Social of the industrial estate, corresponding to plot IPM 2, which was promoted and marketed at the time by the Mixed Land Management and Promotion Company (SOGEPSA). Those lands were subsequently transferred to the Principality, which called for a public auction with conditions that, according to the file, were not feasible for an energy storage project.

To this was added the Agreement of August 25, 2025, of the Governing Council, published in BOPA no. 172 of September 5, 2025, which initiated the formulation of sectoral land-use planning guidelines for battery energy storage systems (BESS) on non-developable land and temporarily suspended the granting of licenses and other enabling titles. The developer then sought privately owned industrial land and, on February 12, 2026, submitted the modified project, now located on plots 15, 16, and 17 of action units 206A and 206B.

Authorized installation datasheet

Installed capacity of 5 MW and storage capacity of 24 MWh, with four hours of autonomy.
Five 20-foot LFP-type lithium-ion battery containers, 4.8 MWh each, with liquid cooling.
Power station measuring 10.24 × 6 × 2.3 meters, with two 2.5 MVA converters and one 6 MVA ONAN 0.690/22 kV oil transformer.
22 kV operation and measurement center and an annexed control and communications center, both in prefabricated buildings.
22 kV high-voltage underground line of 13 meters to the “PB Faisán E-REDES” sectioning center, which will be transferred to the distributor (file AT-14164).
Execution budget: 2,223,740.64 euros.

The access and connection permits to the distribution network were granted by Hidrocantábrico Distribución Eléctrica S. A. (HC) on April 19, 2024, for 5 MW, with a connection point in the underground section of the Serín-Sotiello line from the Colina Faisán distribution center, and were updated on September 17, 2026, due to the change in location, without altering the initial granting date.

No objections and with municipal approval

The project was submitted for public consultation via an announcement published in BOPA no. 78, of April 24, 2026, and no objections were filed. In the second round of consultations, the only report received was from the Gijón City Council, which saw no objection from the standpoint of activities and considered the use compatible with the Special Plan of the “La Lloreda Zona A” Business Area of Tremañes, a concerted urban action definitively approved in BOPA no. 193, of October 3, 2024. The City Council also referred to the agreement of the CUOTA ratifying this criterion, and the developer expressed their agreement.

Regarding environmental matters, the Regional Ministry of Mobility, Environment and Emergency Management issued the Environmental Impact Report on July 29, 2026, for the “PB IM2 Faisán-PB IM2 Lloreda” complex and its evacuation infrastructures (BOPA no. 153, August 10, 2026; file IA-IA-0028/2026//AUTO/2026/5207), which declares alternative 1 viable and exempts the project from an ordinary evaluation. The conditions require a Self-Protection Plan, hydrants and water inlets for firefighters, a perimeter road, a firewall between both plants, acoustic control with the possibility of suspension, verification of electromagnetic fields, collection of firefighting water, management of batteries at the end of their useful life, low-energy lighting, notification of archaeological finds within 48 hours, and a perennial vegetative screen.

Regional Impact

The authorization makes execution subject to a period of one year from obtaining the remaining enabling titles—territorial planning, urban planning, and environment—and does not waive additional licenses. Against the resolution, which concludes the administrative process, an optional appeal for reversal may be filed within one month, or a contentious-administrative appeal before the High Court of Justice of Asturias within two months.

Source: Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias, no. 215 of November 6, 2026, section I (Other Provisions), pp. 1-5 (official reference: Code 2026-08960).