BESS platform NGEN has started building an 85M/170MWh BESS in Austria, while Foresight Group and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) have invested in development platforms in Germany and Lithuania.
The 2-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) in Wagenham, Upper Austria, will go into commercial operation this year, NGEN said.
It will provide flexibility to support the integration of renewables onto the grid, and Upper Austria plays a strategic role on the European grid as a connection point to Germany, NGEN added.
Three years ago, Slovenia-headquartered NGEN put Austria’s largest BESS online at 20MWh, shortly after which we caught up with CEO Roman Bernard about its strategy and expansion in the region. At the time it was also deploying projects in Slovenia and Croatia. Since then it has also expanded to Portugal and Germany.
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The company has its own own energy management system (EMS) platform, Energy Smart Grid Platform, which can aggregate numerous technologies including BESS into virtual power plants (VPPs).
It didn’t reveal which BESS supplier it enlisted for this latest project, but the firm has often used Tesla in past projects.
Foresight invests in German developer Mirai Power
Asset manager Foresight Group has invested in German BESS developer Mirai Power, via its Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners II (FEIP II) fund.
Mirai has originated a 12.5GW pipeline of projects in Germany, primarily pursuing transmission-connected assets. With Foresight’s backing, Mirai will expand beyond Germany, the asset manager said.
Mirai has also previously partnered with another BESS investor, BW ESS, for a 1GW pipeline in Germany.
Foresight Group was the buyer of the Harmony Energy Income Trust (HEIT), a UK-listed fund managed by Harmony Energy, until Foresight bought and de-listed it also via the FEIP II vehicle (alongside Blackmead Infrastructure Limited).
EBRD ups stake in Lithuania developer Green Genius, with focus on BESS
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has acquired a further €50 million (US$57 million) stake in Lithuania-based clean energy developer Green Genius.
It brings the total that EBRD, a development finance institution, has invested in Green Genius to €150 million and will support the developer’s 1.9GW pipeline in Lithuania, Latvia and Poland. There will be a ‘strong focus’ on BESS for Green Genius, including a utility-scale project in Lithuania.
The EBRD has regularly provided financing to projects in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region. That recently includes BESS projects in Estonia from Baltic Storage Platform (BSP), IPP Renalfa’s deployments across Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and North Macedonia, and a BESS in Ukraine from energy firm KNESS.
