Manzanares opens the Azuer I BESS battery to public information

The Manzanares City Council (Ciudad Real) has opened for public review the execution project for a battery energy storage system (BESS) hybridized with the existing Azuer I solar photovoltaic plant and its interconnection line, promoted by Calatrava Solar I, S.L. The admission for processing was agreed upon by the Local Government Board in a session on October 13, 2026, and the announcement is published in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha no. 205, dated October 26, 2026, with the official reference 2026/7605. Interested parties have a period of twenty business days to submit allegations.

The municipal agreement and the purpose of the file

The announcement, signed by Mayor Julián Nieva Delgado on October 15, 2026, details that the Local Government Board admitted for processing the project promoted by Calatrava Solar I, S.L. on plot 1 of polygon 90 of the municipality of Manzanares. The action consists of the hybridization of the already existing Azuer I photovoltaic plant with a battery storage system and the corresponding interconnection line.

The file is processed in accordance with Article 38 of Legislative Decree 1/2023, of February 28, which approves the revised text of the Law on Land Management and Urban Activity of Castilla-La Mancha, a regulation that requires the opening of a public exhibition period in this type of procedure.

Twenty business days and channel for allegations

The public information period is twenty (20) business days and begins to count from the day following the publication of the announcement in the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, that is, starting from October 27, 2026. During this period:

• The file documentation can be consulted on the Transparency Portal of the Manzanares City Council, at the electronic address https://aytomanzanares-transparencia.dipucr.es/portal/117/publicacion/1063.
• Allegations must be submitted in writing through any of the means provided for in Article 16.4 of Law 39/2015, of October 1, on the Common Administrative Procedure of Public Administrations.
• The competent body to resolve is the Manzanares City Council itself, which processes the file as the local administration.

The official text does not include the technical characteristics of the installation in this announcement—power, storage capacity, or number of containers—data which, where applicable, appear in the documentation submitted for public consultation.

Manzanares, a municipality with several hybridizations in process

The initiative by Calatrava Solar I, S.L. is not the only one of its kind in the municipality. One week earlier, the Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha no. 200, dated October 19, 2026, published another public information announcement regarding the battery hybridization of the FV Manzanares-Rotonda 1 plant, promoted by Renovables Rotonda 10SPV, S.L. under file 13270209215 and processed by the Provincial Delegation of Sustainable Development of Ciudad Real.

In that case, the announcement does detail the characteristics of the system: five containers of 5.015 MWh each, 12 inverters of 210 kW, an installed battery capacity of 12.6 MW, a storage capacity of 25.2 MWh, and an installed capacity of the hybridized facility of 46.903 MW, with access capacity limited to 30 MW. The original photovoltaic plant has had an operating authorization since November 20, 2023, and an installed capacity of 34.303 MW.

The difference in the administrative channel is significant: while the Azuer I project is being processed before the City Council via urban planning channels, the Manzanares-Rotonda 1 project is being processed before the Regional Government (Junta de Comunidades) in accordance with Decree 80/2007, of June 19, which regulates authorizations for electrical installations.

Why it affects neighbors and owners of polygon 90

The publication opens the only formal window for citizen participation before the City Council rules on the project. It directly affects the owners of land in polygon 90, where plot 1—the subject of the action—is located, and the neighbors in the vicinity of the Azuer I plant, who may file objections regarding location, access, impacts, or urban compatibility. For the local energy sector, the processing confirms the interest in converting already operational photovoltaic installations into hybrid plants with storage, a formula that allows for better production management and adjustment of energy delivery to the grid.

Source: Official Gazette of Castilla-La Mancha, no. 205, October 26, 2026, section V.- Announcements, p. 37635 (official reference: 2026/7605).