The Spanish government’s proposed 2030 electricity-network plan would increase Catalonia’s power-demand capacity by up to 50%, adding 3.8 gigawatts (GW) to a system whose current peak demand is 8GW, officials said on Thursday.

For households, public services and businesses, the proposal is intended to provide network capacity for major planned projects including the new Trueta health campus in Girona, a Costa Brava desalination plant, industrial sites in Lleida and Tarragona, and a proposed battery gigafactory in Móra d’Ebre. The Spanish government expects to approve the plan before the end of 2026.

Joan Groizard, Spain’s Secretary of State for Energy, and Sílvia Paneque, the Generalitat’s Minister for Territory, presented the proposal near the site of the future Girona health campus. The Generalitat is Catalonia’s devolved government.

“We are preparing the network so that more energy can reach it and more can also be generated from renewable sources,” Paneque said.

Forty new or expanded network connection points

The proposal includes 40 new, expanded or refurbished electricity substations in Catalonia. A substation converts and directs electricity through the grid, allowing new homes, public facilities and industrial sites to be connected.

  • Girona: the 400kV Bescanó substation would be expanded for the future Trueta hospital and health campus, expected to require 35MW in 2030 and up to 94MW when fully developed.
  • Barcelona: the 220kV Facultats substation would be expanded to supply the planned Clínic-UB health campus, including a hospital, university facilities and research services.
  • Lleida: a new 220kV Quatre Pilans substation would support the planned 202-hectare Torreblanca-Quatre Pilans industrial estate and its intermodal station.
  • Tarragona and the Ebre: a proposed Químico substation, operating at 400kV and 220kV, would increase capacity for Tarragona’s petrochemical area, while the wider plan would support the proposed Móra d’Ebre gigafactory.

The plan also proposes expanding the Santa Llogaia substation in Alt Empordà to supply a future northern Costa Brava desalination plant, and strengthening the Santa Llogaia-Olot 132kV network corridor.

Port of Barcelona connection included in longer-term plans

Beyond 2030, the proposal starts the process for extending the 400kV transmission network to the Port of Barcelona. Officials said this would increase supply capacity for the port, Zona Franca industrial area and Barcelona Airport, and support the port’s decarbonisation plans.

The national plan carries investment of up to €17 billion across Spain. It follows a first draft published at the end of 2025 and the consideration of more than 2,500 submissions, including one from the Generalitat.

Red Eléctrica, Spain’s electricity transmission operator, would develop projects on the high-voltage transmission network. Distribution companies would then be responsible for extending local lines from the main substations. Paneque said the Generalitat has created a regular monitoring commission with those companies for investments needed up to 2029.

Reported by viaempresa.cat.