Power firm PGE has started building a 262MW/981MWh BESS in Poland with LG batteries, coinciding with Solar Media’s Energy Storage Summit CEE, which kicked off today (23 September).
The state-owned power firm held a groundbreaking ceremony on the 3.7-hour Żarnowiec battery energy storage system (BESS) project last week, claiming it as one of the largest BESS in Europe. Completion is scheduled for the second quarter of 2027, and the firm is investing PLN 1.5 billion (US$416 million) in it.
South Korea-headquartered LG Energy Solution (LG ES) will supply the project from its facility in Wroclaw, southwest Poland, which manufactures both batteries and BESS. The facility was designed as an EV-focused one, but a slowdown in that sector and an acceleration in BESS saw the firm pivot it, and other facilities, towards energy storage.
The ceremony on 19 September came just a few days before the start of the Energy Storage Summit Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), now in its third edition, put on by our publisher Solar Media, part of Informa. The two-day event in Warsaw brings together private and public stakeholders from across the region, with Poland a key focus.
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Project praised by government ministers
Miłosz Motyka, Poland’s Minister of Energy, commented on PGE’s project: “The energy storage facility in Żarnowiec will be one of the largest of its kind in Europe, becoming a symbol of our country’s modern energy transformation.”
Paulina Hennig-Kloska, Minister of Climate and Environment, added: “Increasing the efficiency of renewable energy sources is one of the government’s priorities. We are investing in expanding the network of energy storage facilities at every level.”
Jangha Lee, president of LG Energy Solution Wrocław: “It’s important to emphasise that this project is fully based on the principle of local content – and we’re proud of it. The batteries for the storage facility are being manufactured in Poland, at our LG Energy Solution Wrocław factory in Biskupice Podgórne. All companies involved in the construction of the infrastructure and energy connections are Polish contractors. The entire project value chain is being built using domestic resources and expertise.”
The Żarnowiecproject was one of around 2.5GW of BESS projects that won capacity market (CM) contracts in December 2024, for which the obligation will begin in 2029. The CM is providing the bedrock of the business case for large-scale BESS in Poland.
Just yesterday, Ukraine-headquartered IPP DTEK announced that Fluence would provide the BESS for its project in Poland, which won a CM contract in 2022, for deliverability in 2027.
