Boralex commissions BESS at wind farm in France in EU-supported demonstration project

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Canada-based renewable energy firm Boralex has turned on a 3.3MWh battery storage unit attached to a wind farm in France.

The battery storage project has been installed at the site of the Plouguin wind farm, an 8MW generating facility in the Finistere department of Brittany, northwest France.

Boralex was selected to deliver the energy storage project following a call for expressions of interest (EOI) by the council of Brittany in 2019. It was co-financed by the European Union through its European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The project was launched to demonstrate the technical feasibility for a hybridised wind-plus-storage project in supplying primary resources to the grid, according to inter-regional agency SMILE (Smart Ideas to Link Energies) which supported the project.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

It aims to demonstrate that adding a battery to a wind site enables it to provide new services while increasing the ISO-connected installed capacity, and encourages an increase in renewable energy generation on the Brittany electricity network, SMILE added.

Boralex added in its announcement that the project will contribute to the stability of the French electricity grid. It will storage energy from the wind farm and dispatch it to the energy grid when it is needed, the company said.

“In the current context of accelerating renewable energy development and growing energy needs, energy storage is a promising solution for greater grid flexibility and more efficient consumption of competitive, lowcarbon energy,” said Nicolas Wolff, Executive Vice President and General Manager of Boralex, Europe.

“Thanks to sites like Plouguin and, before it, Vallée de l’Arce (Aube, Grand Est), we are looking
beyond just producing green energy. We are putting in place innovative services to accompany the rise of renewable energies and contribute to the energy transition.”

It is the company’s second storage deployment in France after a 2MW system was commissioned to adjoin two wind farms totalling 40MW in the Aube department, in eastern France in 2020.

Brittany was also the location of an 80MW wind farm (Moulins de Lohan) that Boralex commissioned in February this year, bringing its worldwide renewable energy capacity to over 3GW.

The region currently imports 85% of its electricity but has the second-largest wind energy resource in France, Boralex said.

The company recently won a tender in New York, US, for a solar PV farm with a four-hour, 77MW/308MWh battery energy storage system.

Wind farms are less frequently hybridised with energy storage than solar PV because of the larger minimum project size and less predictable variability, with sharper peaks meaning heavier battery cycling and potentially faster degradation.

But this is expected to increase in future with several projects showcasing the benefits of the combination. Earlier this year Energy-Storage.news reported on a battery system doubling the utilisation of a wind farm on the Faroe Islands.

Read all wind-plus-storage project news here.

24 February 2026
InterContinental London - The O2, London, UK
This isn’t just another summit – it’s our biggest and most exhilarating Summit yet! Picture this: immersive workshop spaces where ideas come to life, dedicated industry working groups igniting innovation, live podcasts sparking lively discussions, hard-hitting keynotes that will leave you inspired, and an abundance of networking opportunities that will take your connections to new heights!

Read Next

August 28, 2025
Renewables developer and independent power producer (IPP) TagEnergy has acquired Australian developer ACE Power, adding 6GW of energy storage and renewables projects to its portfolio.
August 27, 2025
An EU-backed energy storage capex support scheme in Lithuania will support as much as 4,000MWh of battery storage, the Ministry of Energy has said.
August 26, 2025
Suriya Edwards and Deborah Harvey, partners specialising in battery energy storage at law firm Freeths LLP, analyse new EU battery regulations around suppliers’ responsibility for collecting, treating and recycling collected batteries.
August 25, 2025
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has found battery energy storage systems (BESS) are the most reliable clean energy technology in the National Electricity Market (NEM).
August 15, 2025
Developer Harmony Energy has successfully energised the 100MW/200MWh Cheviré battery energy storage system (BESS) project in France, at the port of Nantes Saint-Nazaire Harbour.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter