Spain Allocates €360 Million for 1.14 GW Solar Projects Integrated with Battery Storage0

Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has awarded €360 million (approximately US$415 million) in funding to support 1.14 GW of solar photovoltaic projects integrated with battery energy storage systems (BESS), marking another major step in the country’s efforts to accelerate renewable energy deployment and strengthen grid flexibility.

The funding was granted through the RENOINN 2 programme, which aims to promote innovative renewable energy solutions by supporting projects that combine renewable generation with energy storage technologies. While the programme was open to multiple renewable technologies co-located with BESS, solar PV accounted for the majority of the awarded capacity.

Overall, the RENOINN 2 programme allocated €433 million in funding to 524 renewable energy projects combined with battery storage, including 463 solar PV projects. The awarded projects represent a total solar PV capacity of approximately 1.22 GW, demonstrating the strong role of solar-plus-storage solutions in Spain’s renewable energy strategy.

On the energy storage side, the programme supported approximately 2.3 GWh of BESS capacity, representing a significant increase compared with the first round of funding, which awarded only 351.6 MWh of storage capacity. The growth highlights Spain’s increasing focus on integrating energy storage technologies to improve renewable energy utilization and enhance electricity system flexibility.

A key objective of the programme was to encourage the development of innovative renewable energy applications, particularly agrivoltaics (agriPV) and floating photovoltaic (FPV) projects combined with battery storage. The funding scheme covered five different categories, including agricultural land applications, floating solar, infrastructure-based projects, self-consumption installations, and renewable heat pump systems.

Among the awarded solar projects, agriPV applications represented the largest share, accounting for 882 MW of solar capacity and approximately 1.7 GWh of BESS capacity. These projects were divided into three sub-categories based on installation type and the distance between solar structures and agricultural crops.

According to MITECO, around half of the funded agrivoltaic projects are located on agricultural land used for cereal production and tree crops such as olive groves and orchards. For these installations, solar panels will be mounted on structures positioned more than four meters above the ground, allowing agricultural activities to continue while enabling renewable electricity generation.

Many of the awarded agriPV projects will also include dedicated control plots to evaluate the interaction between photovoltaic systems and crop production, helping assess the agricultural and environmental impacts of combining renewable energy generation with farming activities.

In addition to agrivoltaics, the programme also supported floating solar development. A total of 29 floating PV projects received funding, representing 46 MW of solar capacity combined with 51 MWh of battery storage. Meanwhile, the self-consumption category supported 274 projects, totaling 70 MW of solar PV capacity and 150 MWh of BESS.

The awarded funding will be provided through Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) under the European Union’s NextGenerationEU initiative, supporting the country’s transition toward a more resilient and sustainable energy system.

Regionally, Catalonia received the largest share of awarded solar PV capacity across the five funding categories, with 322 MW, followed by Castile and León with 208 MW and the Valencian Community with 158 MW.

The latest funding allocation demonstrates Spain’s continued commitment to combining renewable energy generation with advanced storage technologies and innovative applications such as agrivoltaics and floating solar. By supporting these emerging models, Spain aims to maximize renewable energy deployment while addressing land-use challenges and improving grid reliability.