The project, promoted through Salime Energía, S.L., has received funding under the BORALMAC 2 programme, financed by the European Union through NextGenerationEU. The scheme is currently progressing through the Environmental Impact Assessment process and the application for Prior Administrative Authorisation. The plant will have a generating capacity of 247 MW and an energy storage capacity of 3,810 MWh.

Magtel, through its project development company Salime Energía, S.L., has been awarded a €45 million grant for the development of the Grandas de Salime Reversible Hydropower Plant (RHP), located in the Asturian municipalities of Grandas de Salime and Pesoz.

The funding has been granted by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE), an agency of Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), under the second call of the BORALMAC 2 programme for innovative pumped-storage energy projects. The initiative forms part of Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and is financed by the European Union through the NextGenerationEU funds.

The final resolution allocates €45 million to the project against eligible costs amounting to €158.83 million. The development involves the construction of a new reversible hydropower plant with a generating capacity of 247 MW and an energy storage capacity of 3,810 MWh.

The BORALMAC 2 programme, whose budget was increased from €90 million to €165 million in response to strong demand, selected seven projects from a total of sixteen submitted applications. Collectively, the successful projects will provide 2,071 MW of installed capacity and 21,091 MWh of storage capacity across Spain.

Magtel has positioned the Grandas de Salime RHP among the highest-rated pumped-storage projects in the country. Other successful applicants in the programme include major energy groups such as EDP, Iberdrola, Capital Energy, Villar Mir, Tasga and Aspiravi. For the Córdoba-based company, the award is recognition of the project’s technical quality, maturity and contribution to long-duration energy storage.

The Grandas de Salime RHP is currently at an advanced stage of administrative processing. The project is undergoing the environmental assessment procedure required to obtain its Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), while also progressing through the Prior Administrative Authorisation process.

The grant will strengthen the technical, environmental and administrative work required to advance the project towards implementation. It also recognises the innovative nature of the development, its capacity to support the integration of renewable energy sources, and its contribution to the flexibility and security of the electricity system.

According to Magtel, “the funding represents a decisive boost for the Grandas de Salime RHP, recognising the strength of the project and reinforcing its objective of continuing to move forward, in coordination with public authorities and local stakeholders, to make this initiative a key infrastructure asset for energy storage and the energy transition in Asturias and Spain.”