NHOA Energy supplies 105 MWh of batteries to stabilize grid between Balearics and the mainland

The Red Eléctrica subsidiary of Spanish energy company Redeia has awarded Italy’s NHOA Energy the contract to supply 140 MW/105 MWh of battery energy storage for two Balearic electricity substations.

The storage facilities for the Mercadal and San Antonio substations, on the islands of Minorca and Ibiza, respectively, will be “the largest SATA (storage as transmission asset) in the south of the European Union and are the first of their kind to be built in Spain,” according to Red Eléctrica.

The €99.9 million ($106 million) contract to add storage to the substations was awarded after a tender in December 2023. Red Eléctrica expects to begin work at the 132 kV Mercadal site once authorizations are given, likely in late 2024.

“The batteries that will be installed at the Mercadal substation are configured as fully integrated elements in the [electricity] transport network to reinforce the security of supply in Minorca and to maximize the contribution of the existing and future link with Mallorca,” said Red Eléctrica. The project is part of Spain’s national electricity planning program and its National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan.

On Nov. 18, 2024, Red Eléctrica started work on expanding the Mercadal site and the Dragonera substation, also a 132 kV facility on Minorca.

The works, which require modifications to the network, entail the construction of two exit positions for the evacuation of renewable electricity generated by nearby solar parks which have been granted grid connections. The project involves an initial earthworks phase to be followed by the development of civil works and assembly.

Red Eléctrica wants the Dragonera substation ready to evacuate the clean energy loads before October 2025. The Mercadal facility could be ready before summer 2025.

From pv magazine España.