News from Europe’s BESS market, where Encavis has bought its first utility-scale BESS in Italy, OX2 bought two Italian projects from Hanwha and Sunotec commissioned a 379MWh project in Bulgaria.
Encavis enters Italy with first utility-scale BESS
German independent power producer (IPP) Encavis has acquired its first utility-scale standalone battery energy storage system (BESS) in Italy.
The facility in Ceprano, south of Rome near Lazio, will have around 65MW/260MWh of installed capacity when it reaches its expected commissioning date in 2028.
Encavis bought the project from ReFeel New Energy, a leading Italian developer backed by Gresham House Europe.
Try Premium for just $1
- Full premium access for the first month at only $1
- Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
- Cancel anytime during the trial period
Premium Benefits
- Expert industry analysis and interviews
- Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
- Exclusive event discounts
Or get the full Premium subscription right away
Or continue reading this article for free
“With Ceprano, we are realising our first large-scale battery storage project in Italy and adding an important element of flexibility to our existing solar portfolio,” said Encavis CEO Mario Schirru.
The company currently has a solar portfolio of around 420MW in Italy. Its chief of staff, Jan-Philip Kock, spoke to our sister site, PV Tech, earlier this year about why Italy is the most attractive market for standalone solar in Europe, at a time when many mature markets are requiring more standalone or co-located energy storage capacity.
“Going forward, storage will play a central role in efficiently integrating renewable energy into the energy system and in unlocking additional value-creation potential,” Schirru added.
In October last year, the Italian transmission system operator Terna concluded its first Meccanismo di Approvvigionamento di Capacità di Stoccaggio Elettrico (MACSE) auction for energy storage capacity. It procured 10GWh of capacity at what were dubbed “exceptionally competitive prices”, and all of the capacity was contracted in the south of the country.
Sunotec commissions 150MW/379MWh Bulgarian BESS
BESS system integrator Sunotec has commissioned a 150MW/379MWh BESS in Bulgaria, its second operational facility in the country.
The site, near Brusartsi in northwestern Bulgaria, is part of Sunotec’s operational collaboration with optimisation and energy trading firm GEN-I, building on the 126MWh BESS in Byala Slatina, which it commissioned last month.
GEN-I provides commercial management for both operational assets, connecting them to electricity and balancing markets and optimising performance. Sunotec said the two companies plan to bring a further nine BESS projects 95MW/782MWh of capacity online in Bulgaria over the next 12 months.
Bulgaria has been a focus market for Sunotec following a strategic deal it struck last year with Chinese PV inverter and BESS producer Sungrow. The 2.4GWh deal will see Sungrow supply BESS to Sunotec projects across Europe, including in Bulgaria where some of Sunotec’s assets have been entered into a new government support scheme worth BGN 1.15 billion (US$670 million).
OX2 buys two Italian BESS from Hanwha
OX2 has bought two BESS projects in Italy from Korean renewable energy and industrial firm Hanwha.
Swedish renewables developer OX2 bought the two standalone energy storage projects, located in the Apulia region of Southern Italy, from Hanwha Energy Europe last week. Each is 100MW/200MWh in capacity.
OX2 currently has 1.5GW of clean energy projects under development in Italy covering solar PV, BESS and onshore wind projects.
“This acquisition is a substantial addition to our energy storage portfolio in Italy,” said Paolo Tusa, country manager at OX2 Italy. “It marks another step forward in OX2’s continued expansion in the Italian market across onshore wind, solar, and energy storage technologies.”
Alongside its European operations, OX2 has developed a lot of renewable energy and energy storage assets in Australia. In May it completed construction on a 135MW/ 300MWh solar-plus-storage site in New South Wales. You can read our further coverage of OX2 here.
