Spain’s Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has awarded €612m in funding to 173 renewable energy repowering projects, including 92 hydropower modernisation schemes and 81 wind repowering projects.
The funding has been allocated under the second Circular Repowering programme (REPOTEN 2), managed by the Institute for Energy Diversification and Saving (IDAE). The ministry increased the programme’s original budget by 110%, adding €320m to meet demand, bringing the total allocation to €612m.
The programme supports the technological and environmental modernisation of hydropower plants of up to 50 MW, alongside the replacement of ageing wind turbines. While wind projects account for around 90% of the total funding, hydropower projects will receive €60.7m across 92 facilities.
According to MITECO, the projects will add 2433 MW of wind capacity and 1091 MW of hydropower capacity to the electricity system, with the upgraded facilities providing an additional 3.5 GW of generation capability.
More than half of the selected projects (53%) will also incorporate hybrid energy storage, adding around 2 GWh of storage capacity to Spain’s electricity system.
The programme is expected to mobilise almost €3.75bn in total investment. Projects are located across all of Spain’s autonomous communities except the Balearic Islands, with Galicia receiving the highest number of awards, followed by Castile and León, Castile-La Mancha, Andalusia and Aragon.
For hydropower, the funding will support the modernisation of generation equipment and infrastructure, together with the installation of automation systems to improve operational efficiency. Environmental measures eligible under the programme include the construction of fish passes, improvements to ecological flow management and sediment transport, habitat restoration and measures to improve river connectivity.
Wind projects will replace almost 3,000 older turbines, which have an average capacity of 790 kW, with fewer than 500 new turbines averaging 5 MW each. MITECO said this would reduce land use and visual impact while increasing generation and helping to reduce risks to birdlife.
Projects awarded funding under REPOTEN 2 must be completed by 30 June 2030, with the possibility of an extension until 31 December 2030.
The latest awards follow the first Circular Repowering programme, which allocated €186m. Both funding rounds are supported through NextGenerationEU under Spain’s Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan and contribute to the country’s 2023-2030 National Energy and Climate Plan.
