Owner-operator Eco Stor has secured a long-term toll with utility Next Kraftwerke for its 300MW/700MWh project in Förderstedt, Germany, one of the largest being built in the country.
We hear from Christina Hepp, strategy director at battery energy storage system (BESS) owner-operator Green Flexibility, on the big successes and challenges in the German market today.
That’s according to Benedikt Deuchert, head of business development and regulatory affairs for German battery energy storage system (BESS) developer and EPC firm Kyon Energy.
The German network regulator’s decision to maintain grid fee exemptions for battery storage “ensures that billions in private investment remain directed” into the market, Energy-Storage.news has heard.
TagEnergy has commissioned a 240MW/480MWh project in France while Iberdrola has done the same with a 58MW/120MWh system in Spain, the two largest projects in each country. Meanwhile Engie, ACL Energy and Chint Solar Europe have moved to construction on projects in Belgium, Italy and Germany.
Germany’s energy system regulator has confirmed that BESS projects coming online by 4 August 2029 will be exempt from charging and discharging grid fees, opening up investment again after months of uncertainty.
While Germany is often described as the ‘hottest’ energy storage market in Europe, growing uncertainty on multiple policy and regulatory topics has led to a ‘cooling’ of investor interest.
The situation and uncertainty around grid connections and grid fees in Germany is evolving, possibly enabling market participants to look beyond the August 2029 grid fee exemption cut-off date – although uncertainty is still very high.
Lenders are increasingly willing to back large-scale BESS projects in Germany that don’t have any contracted revenues, although that merchant risk is priced in to structures, an executive at Aquila Clean Energy EMEA said.
Large-scale BESS projects have been progressed in Italy, Romania, Germany, Poland, Denmark and elsewhere in Europe, totalling around 1GW under construction, 1GWh soon to be, and another 1GWh at earlier stages.
