Ministry authorizes Afrodita Solar for a battery module in Los Molares

The General Directorate of Energy Policy and Mines has granted Afrodita Solar, S.L. the prior administrative authorization and the administrative construction authorization for the battery storage module “BESS Afrodita”, with an installed capacity of 39.6 MW, for its hybridization with the existing “Afrodita” solar photovoltaic plant, of 46.2 MW, in the municipality of Los Molares, in the province of Seville. The resolution, signed on July 31, 2026, by the director general Manuel García Hernández, is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Seville number 187, dated September 25, 2026, with the official reference BOP-SE-2026-187031. The file was processed in the Industry and Energy Area of the Government Sub-delegation in Seville and received no objections during the public information period.

The file, identified as SEE/DGPEM / Resolution PFot-ALM-199 (AAP_AAC), was resolved in accordance with articles 127 and 131 of Royal Decree 1955/2000, of December 1, and article 53.1 of Law 24/2013, of December 26, on the Electricity Sector. The exemption from the simplified environmental assessment procedure is supported by Royal Decree 997/2025, of November 5, on urgent measures to reinforce the electrical system, which introduces this exemption for certain hybridizations of storage modules and allows for the reduction of processing times.

Afrodita Solar, S.L. submitted the application on December 22, 2025, which was corrected on February 9, 2026. The request was submitted for public information with publication on February 13, 2026, in the Official Gazette of the Province of Seville and on February 25, 2026, in the Official State Gazette, with no objections registered. The Industry and Energy Area of the Government Sub-delegation in Seville issued a report on May 7, 2026.

Technical characteristics of the storage system

The execution project, dated October 22, 2025, defines an installation with the following main characteristics:

• Storage type: lithium ion.
• Installed storage capacity: 39.60 MW, according to article 5 of Royal Decree 997/2025.
• Energy storage capacity: 140.42 MWh.
• Battery system duration: 4 hours.
• Inverters: 168 units, with a maximum power of 236.4 kW.
• Maximum active power of the MV/LV transformer: 39.60 MW; of the HV/MV transformer: 130 MW.
• Generation and consumption access capacity: 40.83 MW in both cases, according to the permits granted by Red Eléctrica de España, S.A.U.
• Affected municipality: Los Molares.

The operation will allow for the storage of energy coming from the photovoltaic plant as well as energy acquired from the grid, for its subsequent management and delivery back to the grid.

Evacuation and background of the photovoltaic plant

The module will evacuate via a 30 kV medium-voltage underground line to a new sectioning center and, from there, to the existing Atenea 30/220 kV substation, utilizing the photovoltaic plant’s facilities. The planned conductor is AL RHZ1 H16 or equivalent, with XLPE 18/30 kV insulation. The remainder of the evacuation infrastructure, which is not part of the scope of this resolution, comprises the Atenea 30/220 kV substation, the 220 kV overhead line to Marchamorón 220/400 kV, the 220 kV overhead line to Matallana 220/400 kV, and the 400 kV overhead line to the Don Rodrigo 400 kV substation, owned by Red Eléctrica de España, S.A.U.

The “Afrodita” photovoltaic park is definitively registered in the Administrative Registry of Electric Power Production Facilities under number RE-115277 and holds an access and connection permit at the Don Rodrigo 400 kV substation. Red Eléctrica de España, S.A.U. updated these permits on August 20, 2025, to incorporate the battery module. The plant also has a binding report dated September 30, 2022, from the Territorial Delegation of Sustainability, Environment and Blue Economy in Seville, corresponding to file AAU/SE/0064/2021/N. The modification of the Atenea 30/220 kV substation was authorized on May 14, 2026, in favor of Atenea Sostenible, S.L. by the Territorial Delegation of Economy, Finance, European Funds, Social Dialogue and Industry, Energy and Mines in Seville.

Conditions, deadlines and appeal process

The distribution of responsibilities among the holders evacuating at the same position of the Don Rodrigo 400 kV substation is governed by the agreement signed on June 8, 2026, in accordance with article 21.5 of Law 24/2013. The promoter must comply with the special conditions of the resolution’s annex and the technical standards of the system operator.

• The deadline for the operating authorization is adjusted to article 131.10 of Royal Decree 1955/2000 and article 1 of Royal Decree-Law 23/2020, of June 23.
• Article 25 of Royal Decree-Law 7/2026, of March 20, allows for a request to extend the milestone within a maximum period of 3 months, in no case exceeding December 31, 2030.
• An administrative appeal (recurso de alzada) may be filed against this resolution, which does not exhaust administrative remedies, before the Secretary of State for Energy within one month.

The authorization arrives without opposition from the consulted bodies: the Land Use Planning Office of the Territorial Delegation of Development, Territorial Articulation and Housing in Seville, the Territorial Delegation of Tourism, Culture and Sport in Seville, and Red Eléctrica de España, S.A. raised no objections. The Roads and Mobility Service of the Provincial Council of Seville required access authorization for the SE-4201 road, which has already been executed and verified. Among others, the City Council of Los Molares, ENDESA Distribución Redes Digitales, S.L.U., Aguas del Huesna S.L., the Guadalquivir Hydrographic Confederation, and the General Secretariat for Energy did not respond, and therefore their agreement is understood.

The ministerial approval clears the final state formality for Los Molares to host a 140.42 MWh storage system associated with a solar plant already in service, a formula that seeks to stabilize renewable production and take advantage of existing evacuation infrastructures in the province of Seville.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Seville, no. 187, September 25, 2026, State Administration, pp. 198-208 (official reference: BOP-SE-2026-187031).