Solaria to add 780 MWh battery to 710 MW Spanish solar site

Solaria Energía y Medio Ambiente says it has obtained environmental approval for 780 MWh of battery capacity at its 710 MW Garoña solar complex.

Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge authorized decommissioning of the Garoña nuclear power plant in 2023. Located in the Tobalina Valley, in Burgos province, Garoña had an installed capacity of 466 MW, was inaugurated in 1971, and was disconnected from the electricity grid in December 2012. Activity did not cease at the site until 2017, however.

In May 2020, Solaria announced it had obtained an access feasibility report to install 695 MW of solar generation capacity at the Barcina-Garoña 400 kV grid node in Burgos, where Solaria acts as single node interlocutor.

In March 2021, the Official State Gazette published applications for an environmental impact statement and prior administrative authorization for four Solaria solar plants in Burgos plus their evacuation infrastructure. The projects concern the Maira Alpha Group plants, with a capacity of 169,991 MWp; Maira Beta Group sites with a capacity of 149,983 MWp; Maira Delta Group facilities with a capacity of 124,998 MWp; and Maira Gamma Group projects, with a capacity of 149,975 MWp.

Solaria has already acquired 1,362 MWh of battery capacity in 2025, of which the first, 116 MWh block will come online this year. The remainder will be connected in 2026. Solaria manages a 6 GWh European storage pipeline, with 2.3 GWh secured.

The company said its asset hybridization and digitalization plan not only aims to optimize operational efficiency but also to diversify revenue through ancillary services and electrical arbitrage. Solaria added, storage will be key to its European expansion, along with the development of sustainable data centers through a business unit created in 2024 which will use Solaria’s power-generation-linked electrical infrastructure.

From pv magazine España.