Spain has awarded €265 million ($302 million) to 11 pumped hydro energy storage projects totaling almost 4.1 GW / 49.9 GWh across two rounds of its Boralmac funding program.

The two rounds, resolved between 2024 and 2026, support new pumped hydro facilities as well as projects using existing infrastructure. The projects are spread across seven Spanish autonomous communities and are expected to be completed by 2035.

The first Boralmac round, resolved in July 2024, awarded the full €100 million available to four projects totaling almost 2 GW of turbine capacity and 28.85 GWh of storage.

The largest award, €44.9 million, went to the BOREAL project in Alcántara, Extremadura, for the new José María de Oriol II pumped hydro plant using the existing Alcántara II and Cedillo reservoirs.

Two projects in Castilla y León will make use of drainage water from abandoned mines. The Navaleo pumped hydro project in Torre del Bierzo received €35.3 million, while the Velilla del Río Carrión project in Palencia was awarded €10.7 million.

The fourth project, EcoEbre in Tarragona, received €9.1 million for a closed-loop pumped hydro facility between two reservoirs.

The original completion deadline for Boralmac 1 projects was the end of 2030. An amendment from the Institute for the Diversification and Saving of Energy (IDAE), approved in January 2026, allows the deadline to be extended to Dec. 31, 2035.

Boralmac 2 initially had a €90 million budget, but this was increased to €165 million following 16 applications seeking a combined €440 million in funding. Seven projects were ultimately selected, representing 2.07 GW of turbine capacity and 21.09 GWh of storage, against more than €755 million in eligible project costs.

The second-round projects include the 545 MW / 4.29 GWh Baells facility in Barcelona and the 354 MW / 4.74 GWh La Barca project in Asturias, which has the largest energy storage capacity among the seven projects.

Other awards went to the 440 MW / 3.52 GWh Meirama project in A Coruña, the 357 MW / 2.97 GWh Los Guajares project in Granada, the 247 MW / 3.81 GWh Grandas de Salime project in Asturias, and the 95 MW / 772 MWh Dehesa de Ganaderos project in Zaragoza.

The 33 MW / 991 MWh TORREALII project in Cáceres is the only Boralmac 2 project that will use existing infrastructure rather than construct a new pumped hydro plant.

All seven BORALMAC 2 projects must be completed by June 30, 2035. The second round is funded through the REPowerEU component of Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, while Boralmac 1 was funded separately under the plan’s electricity infrastructure, smart grids, flexibility and storage component.

IDAE said the projects were assessed on economic viability, technical characteristics, permitting maturity and their ability to support renewable integration and provide system services, including inertia and black-start capability.