Hello :)
I saw this today in the local Spanish newspaper and thought it would be helpful for future travelers to Spain:
https://elpais.com/economia/2019/12/10/actualidad/1576003462_319721.html (use the Google web page translate feature)
Basically a new "low cost" version of the AVE, called AVLO, will begin service April 6th 2020, on the Madrid - Zaragoza - Barcelona line. With tickets available for prepurchase in January. Further low cost AVLO service will be progressively expanded throughout 2020-2021. The official price has not yet been revealed, but it will be somewhere around 50% of the normal AVE ticket price. The AVLO will have only one class and will have more per-train capacity than the AVE.
This comes on the heels of the recent big news, that the French SNCF and the Italian ILSA-Trenitalia railway companies have announced that they will begin operating high-speed trains in Spain starting in 2021.
The bottom line: It's about to get a whole lot cheaper and easier to jet around Spain on a high speed train!
UPDATE (16/12/19) - The official pricing has been released for the new low cost high-speed trains, AVLO, by RENFE. From Barcelona to Madrid tickets will start as low as €10!
You can read more about the update here (In English): Introducing Spain’s new low-cost AVE: €10 tickets for Barcelona to Madrid