Utility and power firm Engie has acquired two BESS projects from Recurrent Energy in Italy, totalling 200MW of capacity.
The two battery energy storage system (BESS) projects are both in Latiano in the southern region of Puglia, and are scheduled to begin construction in 2028.
Recurrent Energy is the project development arm of Canadian Solar, a major manufacturer of PV modules and BESS. Recurrent claims to be one of the largest renewables developers in Italy.
Engie’s Italy portfolio comprises 152MW of solar PV (across 14 projects), 400MW of wind (across 17 projects) and four BESS projects totalling 48MW. The firm is targeting 1.6GW of capacity in Italy by 2030.
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Andrea Fiocchi, managing director GBU Renewables & Batteries for Engie, commented: “Energy storage systems play a fundamental role in the energy system, ensuring the flexibility and adequacy of the electricity system at a time when the penetration of non-programmable renewable sources is constantly growing. This acquisition, an integral part of our development plan in the Italian renewable energy market, will allow us to actively contribute to the country’s energy transition by offering reliable and sustainable solutions for managing the electricity grid.”
Planning consent a key milestone in Italy right now
Having planning consent means the two projects acquired can participate in the first round of the MACSE auction in September, a first-of-its-kind energy storage capacity procurement scheme Italy is running to procure the energy storage capacity it needs to integrate its renewables pipeline. It is targeting 50GWh by 2030, something one developer told us was extremely ambitious (Premium access article).
To participate in MACSE – Meccanismo di Approvvigionamento di Capacità di Stoccaggio Elettrico (Electricity Storage Capacity Procurement Mechanism) – projects need to have planning consent by the end of this month.
The scheme allows energy storage resources to sell their flexible capacity into a centralised platform run by transmission system operator (TS) Terna, which will make that capacity available to renewables operators. The scheme’s 15-year contracts make projects highly bankable, and it is relatively unique in Europe.
It will mainly be used in the South of Italy, where these two projects are, as that is where most solar PV will be. BESS in the North, meanwhile, will primarily look to the Capacity Market (CM) for contracted revenues.
