IPP Neoen will start construction on large-scale BESS projects in France and Japan in the coming months, together totalling nearly 1GWh.
The Paris-headquartered firm will build the 248MW/496MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Vernou-la-Celle-sur-Seine, 90km south-east of the capital.
System integrator Nidec ASI, part of Japan-based Nidec Corporation, will supply the BESS units along with a long-term service agreement. Construction will start in summer 2026 for commercial operation in 2028.
It will be the largest BESS in France and the first to be connected to transmission system operator RTE’s 400kV high voltage transmission network. Note that the interconnection only provides for 200MW of power.
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The BESS will provide frequency and voltage regulation services to the French electricity grid, relieve congestion in the Île-de-France area and enable a higher penetration of renewable energy. France has high ancillary service prices currently.
Nidec ASI will assemble the BESS at its new production facility in La Fouillouse, near Saint-Étienne.
The project includes additional environmental studies, funds local projects and enables local residents to receive vouchers to reduce their energy bills.
Neoen is also building the Breizh Big Battery, a 92MW/183MWh system in Pleyber-Christ, Brittany, which is currently nearing completion. That project is trialling grid-forming capabilities in partnership with RTE.
The news comes a week after Harmony Energy, the UK-headquartered developer-operator, launched construction on its third major BESS project in France.
Neoen expands BESS to new market with Japan
The Brookfield-owned company is also building projects in Italy, the Nordics, Germany, Australia and, as it announced concurrently with the new French project, now Japan.
It will start construction on the 100MW/400MWh Ako Battery in the Kansai region in the coming months, which is also scheduled to begin operation in 2028. The announcement took place while French President Emmanuel Macron was on a diplomatic visit to the country.
