The Ministry for Ecological Transition’s proposal grants the company 320 MW of grid access capacity for the La Barca Pumped Storage Hydropower Plant project, originally launched by Magtel in 2020.

Córdoba, 29 July 2026. The Institute for Just Transition, a body under Spain’s Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, has awarded La Barca Energía grid access and evacuation capacity at the Narcea 400 kV Just Transition node for the CHR La Barca project, an initiative originally launched by Magtel in 2020.

The La Barca Pumped Storage Hydropower Plant, located in Tineo, in south-western Asturias, is a project with 320 MW of installed capacity, 4,092 MWh of energy storage capacity, and 12.79 hours of operational autonomy. It has been conceived as a strategic infrastructure project for large-scale energy storage.

The award process assessed the project’s socio-economic and environmental commitments within the Just Transition area of south-western Asturias. Key criteria included job creation, training initiatives, support for self-consumption schemes, investment in the regional value chain, participatory financing mechanisms, backing for circular economy initiatives, and biodiversity conservation.

La Barca Energía’s proposal includes the creation of 289 jobs over a period of at least 12 years, with 154 positions reserved for former thermal power plant workers. In addition, 52.24% of the committed workforce will be women.

The CHR La Barca project will therefore play a highly significant role in the development of south-western Asturias. Securing grid access capacity represents a major milestone in the project’s progress, which will now continue through the processing of the public hydraulic domain concession and the Environmental Impact Assessment declaration.