The Spanish photovoltaic association Unión Española Fotovoltaica (Unef) held its fourth summit on energy storage and hydrogen on 4 and 5 March. Spain’s Secretary of State for Energy, Joan Groizard, opened the event with a firm commitment to expanding storage: “If there is a time to defend the energy transition and move away from fossil fuels, it is now. Advancing renewables and storage is essential for our future and our present.” He also announced a public consultation aimed at accelerating permits for pumped storage power plants.
Unef calls for clear rules and economic incentives
Unef President Rafael Benjumea emphasised that storage and hydrogen are no longer technologies of the future but are needed today. “We have the companies, the expertise and the project pipeline. What we need are the rules of the game,” Benjumea said. Unef Managing Director José Donoso underlined that storage solutions are indispensable for every photovoltaic plant, both for existing and new projects.
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Last year, Spain made it easier to hybridise solar parks with storage through Royal Decree 997/2025. The summit focused on the next steps: market participation, project financing and the operation of storage systems, in both hybrid plants and stand-alone projects.
Ministry working on flexibility report
UNEF
Fátima García Señán, Deputy Head of the Department for Storage and Flexibility at the Ministry for the Environment and Energy (Miteco), announced a report aimed at accelerating grid flexibility. “We have prepared a report that includes a quantitative analysis with different levels of hourly and spatial granularity, which will be complemented by a qualitative assessment of market and digitalisation barriers,” García Señán explained. The report will be updated regularly and will analyse both the overall system and transmission and distribution grids.
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Alberto Nadal, Deputy Secretary for Economic Policy at the Partido Popular and former Secretary of State for Energy, advocated abolishing the electricity generation tax IVPEE (Impuesto sobre el Valor de la Producción de Energía Eléctrica), arguing that it places a double tax burden on storage projects.
Flexible grid connections and battery market access
Miguel De la Torre, Director of System Development at Redeia, called for storage to be treated like conventional generators. Batteries must be able to participate equally in the market, as they are just as important for grid stability. Juan Bogas, Director of Market Surveillance at market operator Omie, pointed to revenue potential: the continuous intraday market can offer a spread of up to €173 per megawatt hour. In addition, revenue from the secondary reserve market (SRAD) can significantly offset the investment costs of storage projects.
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Marta Morera Marcé, Director General for Energy of the Generalitat de Catalunya, called for closer cooperation between project developers and municipalities. She suggested integrating storage into urban planning and establishing it as a standalone use category in land-use regulations.
Financing models based on long-term contracts
Project financing is increasingly centred on so-called tolling agreements. Under this model, an offtaker leases the storage system and pays the operator a fixed price per megawatt. Contract terms currently range from seven to ten years, with the technical specifications of the battery taken into account.
Large green hydrogen pipeline, little in operation
On green hydrogen, the summit revealed a clear gap between announcements and reality. With the revision of the National Energy and Climate Plan (PNIEC) in 2024, Spain raised its hydrogen ambitions and aims to become a European export hub. However, actual development is lagging behind the announced project pipeline. Participants identified saturated grid nodes and a lack of offtakers as the main bottlenecks. According to the speakers, the molecular properties of hydrogen restrict end-use applications mainly to the aviation sector and refineries near production sites. (nhp)
