Galicia is set to receive by 2030 ten new substations to receive; in addition, 208 kilometres additional lines and 1.6 gigawatts more grid connection capacity planned. This is set out in the updated Planning 2025–2030 for Spain’s electricity grid, which the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO) has put out for consultation. Compared with earlier drafts, the increase in lines has grown by around 22 per cent. The additional capacity is aimed primarily at industrial consumers, including hydrogen production projects and automotive supplier plants, as well as the integration of renewable generation.
Concrete procedural steps show that some projects have already moved beyond the planning stage. For the facility Abegondo 400 kV (400/220 kV) in the area around A Coruña the Dirección General de Política Energética y Minas granted preliminary approval in November 2025 and declared parts of the project to be of public utility. Notices were published in the Boletín Oficial del Estado and in Galicia’s official gazette. Such administrative acts mark the start of the formal approval procedure and reduce planning uncertainty for neighbouring grid sections.
Planning for 2025–2030 is being developed jointly by MITECO and Red Eléctrica. It brings together grid expansion, reinforcements and substations according to regional needs, and prioritises corridors with high growth in both feed-in and demand. Actual commissioning, however, depends on environmental impact assessments, consultations, detailed planning and further approvals. The administration has therefore not yet set firm start or completion dates for individual construction projects.
The legal framework was clarified in 2026: a Real Decreto came into force in July, clarifying procedural matters for investment plans and tenders. From industry’s perspective, the planned 1.6 gigawatts of additional grid connection capacity could make projects at energy-intensive sites easier, while also requiring new grid nodes and consolidated lines. Municipalities and citizens’ groups are likely to scrutinise individual route proposals; the authorities point to consultation and compensation mechanisms in the procedure.
The figures now announced—ten new substations, 208 kilometres of lines and 1.6 gigawatts of additional capacity—come from the current national grid plan and related notices. They provide a reliable guide to grid expansion in Galicia, but do not replace the later, project-specific implementation decisions. MITECO stresses that the priority is to connect industrial projects quickly and integrate renewable energy, in order to strengthen security of supply and the region’s attractiveness as a place to do business.
Editor: Mira Cadena (Article created with AI assistance).