CUOTA approves BESS battery guidelines and suspends licenses for one year

The Urban Planning and Territorial Ordering Commission of the Principality of Asturias (CUOTA), in its Plenary session on September 3, 2026, agreed to initially approve the Sectoral Guidelines for battery electric energy storage systems on non-developable land in Asturias, along with its strategic environmental document. The agreement, adopted within the Department of Territorial Ordering, Urban Planning, Housing, and Citizen Rights, is published in the Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA) number 173, dated September 7, 2026, under code 2026-07339.

The decision is framed within the consolidated text of the legal provisions in force regarding territorial ordering and urban planning (Legislative Decree 1/2004, of April 22) and its implementing regulation, as well as Law 21/2013, of December 9, on environmental assessment. The urban planning document is subject to public review for 2 months, while the strategic environmental study is subject to review for 45 days, during which period the affected administrations are also consulted.

Suspension of licenses for one year

Pursuant to Article 51 of the Territorial Ordering and Urban Planning Regulations of the Principality of Asturias, as worded by Decree 89/2025, of June 30, the suspension of urban planning licenses and enabling titles for the implementation of BESS batteries is agreed upon for a period of one year across the different categories of non-developable land throughout the Asturian territory. The measure allows for two exceptions:

• Non-developable land where mining, industrial, or energy activities are being developed, or where such activities were developed and are now in a state of disuse, abandonment, or degradation without having completed their restoration, the regulation of which shall follow the use regime of the land category assigned by the planning.
• Storage facilities intended for self-consumption whose installed capacity does not exceed 3 MW.

Citizen participation and consultation

During the public review periods, allegations and suggestions may be submitted through any of the forms provided for in Article 16.4 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure, addressed to the Secretariat of CUOTA. The documentation will be available at the offices of the Commission’s Secretariat, at Antonio Suárez Gutiérrez Street, no. 2 in Oviedo, first floor right sector, Monday to Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and on the notice board of the Corporate Portal of the Principality of Asturias.

The agreement, signed in Oviedo on September 1, 2026, by the Technical Secretary General, marks a turning point for the deployment of renewables in the region: while the guidelines are being processed, energy developers and Asturian city councils must wait one year for new battery installations on non-urbanizable land, except for the exempted cases, in a context of growing demand for electrical storage.

Source: Official Gazette of the Principality of Asturias (BOPA), no. 173, of September 7, 2026, section I. Principality of Asturias, Other Provisions (official reference: 2026-07339).