Portugal has selected 43 winning BESS projects for a share of €100 million (US$105 million) in EU grants while, on the other side of Europe, Moldova has launched a 75MW BESS procurement with funding from USAID.
Portugal: 43 winning projects totalling 500MW of storage
Portugal has awarded grant support to around 500MW of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects, using EU Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) funding, a bloc-wide scheme that has supported energy storage across the continent.
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The 500MW procurement was confirmed in August 2024 and aims to strengthen the flexibility and sustainability of Portugal’s national electricity system and integrate renewable power into the energy mix. Some 79 applications were submitted, of which 43 were successful.
The country’s minister of environment and energy, Maria da Graça Carvalho said: “Support for
Innovative projects like these are essential to ensure a greener and more efficient future.”
Several notable developers, utilities and independent power producers (IPPs) are among the list of winning projects, including Iberdrola, Galp, Hyperion and Greenvolt, though others may have bid in with special purpose vehicles (SPV).
The winning grants average a few millions euros each, with the highest amount, €16 million, going to the Solara 4 project. Capacities of the projects themselves were not given.
Greenvolt and Galp have both deployed 5MW BESS projects in Portugal in the past.
Moldova to sign contracts for first stage of 75MW procurement imminently
In eastern Europe, Moldova is in the process of completing a bidding process for the procurement of a 75MW BESS and 22MW internal combustion engine (ICE) project, called the Moldova Energy Security Project (MESA).
A first stage of the bidding for 30MW of the BESS capacity is expected to be completed in the coming weeks, the country’s Ministry of Energy said last week (16 January).
The country sits between Romania and Ukraine, and is in accession negotiations to become a member of the EU.
A US$85 million funding package for the procurement comes from USAID, a US-headquartered development finance institution, which is also managing the bidding exercise. That was also announced last summer, in June.
Works on the first phase of the project should be completed by September 2026 and the BESS will be installed at the CET Nord thermal power plant in Bălți, helping stabilise the grid. The project will also help facilitate electricity trade with Romania, Ukraine and the wider European market, the Ministry said.
