The Spanish government approved Royal Decree 7/2025 on June 24, resolving several long-standing obstacles hindering the secure and lawful deployment of energy storage projects. This move responds to the large-scale blackout incident experienced by the country in April this year. The Spanish Battery Energy Storage Association (AEPIBAL) stated that the new regulation marks a major breakthrough for energy storage development in Spain.
To accelerate energy storage industry growth, the decree stipulates: Energy storage facilities located within the scope of renewable energy power stations that have passed environmental impact assessments are exempt from environmental evaluation procedures. This measure addresses long-standing industry demands and is expected to significantly shorten project approval cycles.
The decree explicitly classifies energy storage facilities and their associated grid connection infrastructure as “public utility” for the first time. This grants them legal support equivalent to power generation facilities in land acquisition and permitting processes, marking a major breakthrough in Spain’s energy storage policy.
The new regulation finally implements the following core elements promoted for years by AEPIBAL and the Ministry of Energy:
• The Declaration of Public Utility (DUP) is formally established for energy storage facilities and their associated infrastructure—used for injecting and withdrawing electricity between transmission and distribution networks—mirroring the existing legal status of power generation facilities. "Declaration of Public Utility" means the government recognizes such projects as serving public interest, granting rights to legally acquire land and simplify approval procedures.
• For hybrid power generation projects with battery storage, approval processes will be substantially streamlined provided the energy storage facilities are within the project’s planned boundaries. Crucially, such projects are exempt from environmental impact assessments.
• "Installed capacity" is explicitly defined as the maximum output power of inverters. This adjustment fundamentally changes the approval authority threshold for hybrid projects (＞50 MW projects require central government approval; ≤50 MW projects require local government approval). Henceforth, capacity calculations for hybrid project components will no longer be cumulative.
• A breakthrough is achieved in the key area of contention between the Ministry of Energy and the National Markets and Competition Commission (CNMC)—new rules abolish discriminatory treatment of hybrid generation projects under technical curtailment orders. Per the updated regulation, all renewable energy power stations (regardless of energy storage configuration) will receive priority protection during grid congestion, becoming the last to be curtailed.
• Another major breakthrough: Energy storage facilities will gain demand-side flexible access permits and will no longer be classified as electricity consumers. Simultaneously, the regulation standardizes grid connection guarantee requirements: relevant matters are now exclusively handled by project file management agencies, and guarantee releases will only be tied to generation warranties, decoupled from supply contracts.
• Finally, for Behind-the-Meter (BTM) energy storage, the regulation explicitly defines the functions of independent aggregators for the first time—this innovative institutional arrangement requires further specialized discussion and refinement.
It must be specifically noted that this Royal Decree (RDL) has a 30-day provisional validity period. It must obtain approval from the Congress of Deputies within this timeframe to be permanently incorporated into the legal system. If parliamentary approval fails, all provisions of the decree will automatically lapse, at which point the original regulatory framework will be reinstated.
On April 28 this year, Spain experienced a widespread blackout. According to the Spanish Ministry of Energy, grid power supply dropped by approximately 60% within five seconds, equivalent to 15 GW. Portugal, interconnected with Spain’s grid, also suffered extensive power outages. Both countries faced transportation paralysis, communication blackouts, and public life descended into chaos. Electricity supply was largely restored the following day. This stands as one of Europe’s most severe power failure incidents in recent years.
On June 17, the Spanish government released a report attributing the root cause of the blackout to an instantaneous voltage spike—a voltage surge. However, Spain’s power system exhibited "insufficient voltage control capability," stemming from inadequate planning and ineffective response. Due to misjudgment, the surge was not promptly absorbed, triggering a series of "uncontrollable chain reactions." Theoretically, Spain’s grid was robust enough to handle such situations, but the entire system lacked coordination, transparency, and clear division of responsibilities. The government believes enhanced regulation of power operators and grid reinforcement are necessary moving forward.