A trio of German grid-scale BESS news items, with Next Kraftwerke and ju:niz Energy agreeing a seven-year toll, Alpiq announcing a 370MW pipeline, and WBS Power selling the country’s largest solar-plus-storage project and planning a data centre on the same site.
Germany has this year become a hotbed of battery energy storage system (BESS) project announcements and deal-making, driven by its substantial revenue opportunities as Europe’s largest electricity market and a looming August 2029 deadline for getting projects operational to avoid charge-discharge grid fees. See all recent coverage here.
WBS Power sells solar-plus-storage project, plans data centre
Developer WBS Power has sold the 150MW solar, 500MW/2,000MWh BESS Project Jupiter in Brandenburg, Germany, to investor Prime Capital.
WBS acquired the site for the clean energy project in 2022, and the project will require €500 million (US$583 million), with construction expected in late 2026/early 2027. Both technologies will share a 380kV grid connection in the area of TSO 50Hertz. The acquisition is subject to Project Jupiter reaching ready-to-build (RTB) status.
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The transaction also establishes a joint venture to co-locate a hyperscale data centre of up to 500MW in power demand in the same area.
WBS Power said there is growing demand for data centres in Germany, which are highly energy-intensive and benefit significantly from direct access to renewable power and grid stability.
“By integrating Germany’s largest co-located BESS and Solar PV project with a hyperscale data center, we are creating a unique platform that supports both the energy transition and digital transformation,” said Maciej Marcjanik, CEO of WBS Power Group.
Alpiq secures 370MW Germany pipeline
Switzerland-based energy firm Alpiq has expanded in Germany with a 370MW BESS pipeline the company has ‘secured’, in partnership with developer SPP Development. The projects in Brandenburg and Saxony-Anhalt are expected to reach RTB status in 2026.
Lukas Gresnigt, Head International and member of the Executive Board of Alpiq said that Germany is a competitive and complex market for BESS, with many projects are queuing for grid access and permits, and the partnership combined Alpiq’s financial strength and SPP’s local expertise.
Last week, Energy-Storage.news reported on Alpiq entering into a long-term toll for a BESS in Germany owned and operated by Eco Stor. Alpiq has acquired projects in France and Finland, where it recently commissioned a 30MW/36MW project.
Shell and EQT companies agree Germany BESS toll
VPP operator Next Kraftwerke, acquired by Shell in 2021, has concluded a Germany BESS toll with BESS platform ju:niz Energy, acquired by investor EQT in 2024.
The seven-year toll is for a 20MW/40MWh project in Vöhringen, Bavaria, and Next said it is one of the first operational contracts of its kind in Germany, live since 1 November.
Next Kraftwerke will pay ju:niz Energy a fixed monthly fee per installed MW for the use of the BESS capacity. The model offers stable revenues for the operator (ju:niz) and flexibility for the optimiser (Next Kraftwerke). The toll is 80% fixed remuneration and 20% merchant, Next said.
