BayWa r.e. will manage and maintain Germany’s largest operational BESS when it comes online later this year, while Terra One has started building a smaller project in the same state.
The project updates come ahead of the Energy Storage Summit at The Battery Show Europe, in Stuttgart, Germany next month (9-11 June). The country is at a pivotal moment for large-scale storage, with many huge projects underway and financing them now less of a challenge than three or four years ago. But, big regulatory and commercial challenges remain.
Meanwhile in neighbouring Austria, Blackvolt Energy has started building its first battery energy storage system (BESS) project.
BayWa r.e. secures asset operations contract for ‘Germany’s largest BESS’
BayWa r.e., the renewables development arm of conglomerate BayWa group, has secured an eight-year service contract via its asset operations division for a 137MW/282MWh BESS in Lower Saxony, Germany.
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The Alfeld project will be the largest in Germany when it comes online in Q3 this year, BayWa r.e. claimed.
It is being developed and built by BESS developer and EPC Kyon Energy for long-term owner Scale Fund, a Denmark-based investor. Kyon connected it to the grid in January this year.
BayWa r.e. clarified to Energy-Storage.news that the contract does not include optimising or trading of the asset in the energy market. Kyon Energy has used outside companies but also has in-house optimisation capabilities.
BayWa r.e. said the Alfeld contract is an asset management and operations one which covers:
- Technical asset management including 24/7/365 remote monitoring
- Advanced data analytics for client reporting regarding BESS system health, performance and safety
- Data management
- Operational technology (OT) & cybersecurity services including attack detection management
- Commercial asset management
- On-site preventive maintenance of the balance of plant (BOP) components
Note that while the project may well be the largest when it comes online, there are many significantly bigger ones under construction for later commercial operation dates. These include an 800MWh one from EnBW, 700MWh and 800MWh projects from RWE, a 700MWh one from Eco Stor, and huge, 1.6GWh and 4GWh ones from LEAG.
Financial close and NTP for Terra One’s Visbek project
Terra One has issued a notice-to-proceed (NTP) to its EPC partners for a 15MW/30MWh BESS in Visbek, also in Lower Saxony, Germany.
Construction will start mid-May for commercial operations in Q4 2026. The project will operate under one of the first-ever Flexible Connection Agreements (FCA) issued by utility and distribution network operator EWE.
Ascory Bank provided non-recourse project financing. Terra One developed the project in-house and will optimise it via its OneKraftwerk platform, which it claimed operates more than 50 BESS and renewable assets.
Visbek is its third project to reach NTP following identically sized ones in Oersdorf and Tangerhutte.
The company emphasised that it will operate its projects in ‘merchant’ mode, meaning no long-term contracted revenues. CFO Thomas Antonioli discussed the firm’s belief in merchant revenues along with other aspects of its strategy in an interview in October last year.
Blackvolt starts building first project, in neighbouring Austria
Blackvolt Energy has launched construction on its first large-scale system, in Oberndorf, Salzburg, Austria. The BESS will have a capacity of 18MW/36MWh and commissioning is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027. Slovenia-headquartered BESS platform NGEN is currently building the country’s largest project.
