Spain preps grants for energy storage and grid demand management

The Spanish government has opened a public consultation exercise into a grant program to back energy storage and grid flexibility sites, and to support electricity demand management.

Funding for the grants will come from the European Union’s, 2021 to 2027 European Regional Development Fund.

The consultation document explains the need for a technology-neutral, comprehensive approach to the problem of evening out electricity supply from renewables sites which generate intermittently. Energy storage and grid flexibility projects address the problem on a large scale and demand management takes a small-scale, “distributed” approach.

The inclusion of rolling and synthetic inertia, provided by various power systems, can help stabilize grid supply, particularly in island grids.

Energy storage sites, either connected to the grid on a standalone basis or installed as part of hybrid renewables projects, could be eligible for grants under the program.

The second grant area concerns enabling energy consumers to be active participants in bolstering grid supply, through energy efficiency measures, electric vehicle charging, and other energy-related services.

“For all these reasons, it is necessary for demand to play a more active role within the electricity system, enabling efficient flexibility management and enabling demand to participate in the energy market,” states the consultation document.

Subsidized demand management equipment could include distributed hardware, manageable assets, and communications infrastructure in industry, as well as communication technology between buildings and the grid.

The consultation exercise will close on March 21, 2025.

From pv magazine España.