Spain opens consultation for 100 MW/400 MWh BESS at hybrid CSP-PV plant

The Spanish government has opened a public consultation for two BESS projects that would add a combined 100 MW/400 MWh of storage capacity to the Solaben ST1 and Solaben ST6 hybrid CSP and PV plants in Logrosán, Cáceres.

The projects, developed by Solaben Electricidad Uno and Solaben Electricidad Seis, are seeking prior administrative and construction approval to hybridize the existing 50 MW CSP plants with battery storage while reusing the existing grid infrastructure.

Spain’s Directorate General for Energy Policy and Mines agreed in March to process both applications jointly under a regulatory framework that exempts certain storage projects from simplified environmental impact assessments.

Each project includes a 50 MW battery system with 200 MWh of usable storage capacity, equivalent to 225 MWh of installed capacity, providing a nominal four-hour duration.

The projects will use 36 Hithium Power lithium-ion battery containers rated at 6.25 MWh each, or equivalent equipment, connected to 15 inverters and distributed across eight medium-voltage transformer stations.

Electricity will be exported through new switching stations to the existing Solaben 1 and Solaben 6 substations, allowing the projects to reuse the current transmission infrastructure.

Although each battery system will have 50 MW of power capacity, the hybrid plants will remain limited to 62.5 MW because of the capacity of the shared transformer. Grid access rights will remain unchanged at 104.99 MW.

Construction budgets are estimated at €21.21 million ($24.2 million) for Solaben ST1 and €22.03 million for Solaben ST6. The projects will remain open for public consultation for 15 working days.

The battery systems represent a second hybridization phase for the Solaben complex. In 2024, both plants began permitting to add 4.99 MW photovoltaic arrays while continuing to use the existing substations and transmission connection.

The Solaben complex, originally developed by Abengoa and now part of Cox, comprises four 50 MW parabolic trough CSP plants built between 2012 and 2013. Together they occupy about 440 hectares and form one of Spain’s largest concentrated solar power complexes.

From pv magazine España