FRV’s hybridization strategy targets 5 GWh of standalone Spanish BESS

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) is planning to hybridize its Spanish solar portfolio by adding more than 1.2 GW/5 GWh of standalone BESS assets. The Madrid-headquartered company said on its website that these planned batteries are expected to reach ready to build status “between 2026 and 2027.”

The projects are at an advanced stage of development, FRV claims.

“The combination of hybrid projects and stand-alone storage systems will allow us to maximize the performance of our infrastructure, provide greater flexibility to the electricity system, and ensure a more stable and resilient supply,” said Fernando Salinas, Managing Director, FRV Iberia.

Salinas added that the hybridization strategy reflects FRV’s intention to optimize its existing energy resources while contributing to the development of a “more sustainable and efficient energy model.”

In November 2025, Spain published legislation to encourage the development of energy storage and hybrid renewable energy assets. Royal Decree 997/2025 significantly simplified the process of environmental approval for hybrid projects, favoring batteries located within existing projects.

FRV’s hybrid storage portfolio expansion is primarily focused on Extremadura. The western Spanish region will host the San Serván 220 complex (56 MW/225 MWh) and Solanilla facility (18 MW/72 MWh), whose hybridizations will be ready to build in the first quarter of 2026.

The Carmonita group of projects, which comprises Carmonita Ministerio (320 MW/1,360 MWh), Carmonita Sur (80 MW/400 MWh), Carmonita Norte (91 MW/455 MWh), and Carmonita IV (40 MW/200 MWh) plants together with the 111 MW/495 MWh planned for hybridization at San Serván 400, will amount to a total hybrid capacity of 652 MW/3.5 GWh in Extremadura.

Elsewhere, FRV plans to add 57 MW/285 MWh of BESS to its Alcores solar project in Andalusia. It is also planning 334 MW/1.3 GWh of BESS across six sites in Catalonia. The northern Spanish region of Cantabria will be home to the 50 MW/200 MWh Santander Camarreal energy storage system, with construction scheduled to begin in the second quarter of 2026.

Founded in 2006, FRV has been owned by Abdul Latif Jameel since 2015. It owns and operates renewable energy projects in Australia, Chile, Italy, the UK, Uruguay, Armenia, Finland, New Zealand, Mexico and Jordan.

It has a 24 GW development pipeline. Its project portfolio numbers more than 13 GW, with 8.5 GW in BESS capacity.

As well as its project portfolio, FRV operates FRV-X, its technology investment platform which includes an ‘energy-storage-as-a-service’ model for the commercial and industrial sector. In 2019, it launched a Mexican BESS project under this model which it claims requires no investment from the service offtaker. The battery provides a nominal power of 480 kW to provide up to two hours of stored energy.