A c.500MWh BESS project in Bulgaria has been inaugurated, claimed as the largest in the European Union (EU).
The battery energy storage system (BESS) in Lovech, northern Bulgaria, is comprised of 111 battery containers and has a total capacity of nearly 500MWh, the Ministry of Energy announced, with local reports saying it is 496MWh.
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“It is the first step towards achieving the goal of having 10,000 megawatt-hours of operating batteries in the country within the next year,” said Minister of Energy, Zhecho Stankov, adding that BESS technology helps system security and price stability for Bulgaria.
That 10GWh figure alludes to 82 projects totalling 9,712.89MWh that were awarded capex support in a recent auction totalling BGN 1.15 billion (€588 million/US$670 million), finalised by the government last month.
Stankov added: “When the state and business look in the same direction, the result is stable projects for the benefit of the Bulgarian energy sector. Our task is to reduce the administrative burden and thus give business a chance to create new jobs and new investments.”
Local outlets have reported the project is a 124MW/496.2MWh, 4-hour system deployed by a company called Advance Green Energy AD, which is owned by brothers Kiril and Georgi Domuschiev.
Advance Green Energy AD’s CEO Stanislav Cherkezov posted on business networking site LinkedIn about the project: “Today marks a historic moment for our team and the entire renewable energy sector – we’re proud to officially open EU’s largest battery storage power plant.”
The technology provider for the project wasn’t revealed but images showed a BESS unit with a weight of 42,000kg, which is roughly the average weight for a 5MWh 20-foot container product. The industry has somewhat converged over the last few years to this form factor, although recently more products have come out with different designs.
Until the Lovech project came online, the largest operating BESS in Bulgaria was most likely a 25MW/55MWh system commissioned by Renalfa IPP in mid-2024.
He added: “This facility will play a crucial role in stabilising the grid, supporting the integration of renewable energy sources, and helping Europe move closer to its climate goals.”
Other companies deploying BESS in Bulgaria that Energy-Storage.news has recently reported on include IPP and T&D network owner Eurohold Bulgaria and state-owned utility and power generation firm NEK.
