German IPP Enertrag and Swiss utility Axpo have launched BESS projects in France, including what could be the country’s first 3-hour project.
Enertrag takes FID on 3-hour France project
Enertrag has reached final investment decision (FID) on its 39MW/117MWh Le Sablons battery energy storage system (BESS) project in France.
Advisor Natural Power announced the FID earlier this week (19 October), saying the project in the Hauts-de-France region would come online in Spring 2027.
Natural Power, which did technical due diligence to support the financing, claimed it is one of the first 3-hour BESS projects in France. Construction is already underway.
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Julien Teixeira, Senior Technical Adviser BESS at Natural Power, said: “Les Sablons is an important project in the development of France’s BESS market, combining three-hour storage duration with co-location alongside significant wind generation.”
The project is co-located at the same substation as two of Enertrag’s wind farms which, combined with the BESS, total 120MW of capacity.
Bank Credit Agricole was the main financing party, acting as both arranger and lender.
Enertrag entered into an offtake deal with utility GazelEnergie for the Les Sablons project in June, which will see GazelEnergies control the dispatch of it in the energy market while Enertrag will operate and maintain the system.
Axpo orders BESS from Saft for two French projects
The Enertrag news comes a few weeks after Switzerland-based Axpo signed contracts with BESS supplier Saft for two projects in France.
Battery manufacturer and BESS integrator Saft, part of oil and gas major TotalEnergies, will supply the BESS equipment for Axpo’s 41MW/92MWh Orbec project in Normandy and the 14MW/30MWh Bois Paillet project in Centre-Val de Loire.
Saft will provide 18 of its Intensium Flex containerised BESS units with deliveries scheduled for early 2027, along with its I-Sight digital monitoring platform.
As Natural Power alluded to, most projects in the French market are 2-hour systems, reflecting the current mix of ancillary services and energy market opportunities as the country’s renewable pipeline grows.
That includes the largest system online, TagEnergy’s 240MW/480MWh Cernay-lès-Reims project, and similar scale ones being built by IPPs Neoen and Kallista.
