Spain recognises energy storage as a key to strengthen grid resilience
by Julia Souder, CEO, Long Duration Energy Storage Council
In response to the 28 April blackout, the Spanish government has approved sweeping reforms to strengthen grid resilience, accelerate electrification, and boost energy storage.
For the first time, official regulation recognises energy storage as a matrix of applications—power-to-power, power-to-heat, and power-to-X—and a portfolio of technologies including electrochemical, mechanical, and thermal.
Source: LDES Council Annual Report 2024
This is a major milestone. It reflects a new regulatory mindset that storage is not just a "one-size-fit-all" fix, but a matrix of diverse solutions, functioning as a system enabler.
Through faster permitting for hybridised storage projects, reforms to voltage control protocols, and expanded allowances for distributed self-consumption of onsite renewables, MITECO is taking steps to advance flexibility, reliability, and independence in one of Europe’s most ambitious power markets through energy storage.
Learn more about the matrix of diverse LDES solutions here.
Next Steps
Spain’s next step is defining storage by duration.
Long-duration solutions, providing energy over eight hours to days, weeks, or seasons, are essential to provide maximum flexibility and grid stability. By shifting energy use away from peak hours, LDES reduces stress on transmission and distribution networks, cutting infrastructure wear and lowering costs. LDES technologies are designed for multi-day-to-seasonal storage, supporting extended grid reliability during prolonged outages, weather events, or low renewable output periods.
LDES also ensures reliability. Eight-plus-hour storage technologies can reduce peak capacity needs, defer costly grid upgrades, and provide emergency backup in disaster scenarios, helping to keep the lights on 24/7. LDES ensures power availability during prolonged outages, natural disasters, and peak demand events, reducing the risk of blackouts and system failures.
LDES is essential to unlocking the full potential of a resilient energy system, ensuring energy stability and security to national infrastructure.
Spain’s progress shows that with the right policy signals, LDES technologies can unlock energy resilience, cost savings, climate resilience, and 24/7 power.
About the Long Duration Energy Storage Council
The Long Duration Energy Storage Council is a global organisation advancing decarbonisation by facilitating the accelerated deployment of LDES solutions. The LDES Council's global industry organisation provides fact-based guidance on the deployment of LDES. The LDES Council covers a wide range of LDES technologies, and its members operating in 26 countries span a spectrum of innovation, including mechanical, thermal, electrochemical and chemical solutions.
To fully realise the transformative potential of LDES solutions and achieve a decarbonised energy system, deployments must ramp up significantly. The LDES Council remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing these essential technologies.
By working with members, partners and key decision leaders in governments, regulatory agencies, financial institutions and civil society, the full spectrum of benefits that LDES offers can be unlocked, accelerating the clean energy transition, and helping to ensure a resilient, sustainable and decarbonised energy future for all. www.ldescouncil.com
Media Contact:
Holly McCollough
Hmccollough@ldescouncil.com