Bulgaria introduces mandatory financial guarantees for energy storage investors

Bulgaria has introduced new rules applying to battery energy storage investors that are looking to develop projects under the country’s tender for standalone energy storage systems, named RESTORE.

The procurement procedure, announced earlier this year, offers nearly BGN 1.2 billion ($656 million) for the construction and commissioning of standalone renewable energy storage facilities with a minimum usable energy capacity of 3,000 MWh. The deadline for applications in November 21.

Earlier this week, the country’s Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (KEVR) announced new measures adopted on September 26 and applying to investors in the battery energy storage facilities under the RESTORE program.

Under the new regulation, the investors will be requested to pay a deposit of BGN 50,000 for each megawatt of power that will be connected to the power transmission or distribution networks.

“In this way, the opportunities for abuses in the energy sector are crossed and real investor interest in storing energy from RES is encouraged,” the commission said in a statement. The new financial guarantees are expected to act as an obstacle for “the speculative retention of capacity in the networks by persons with no real investor interest,” which can negatively affect end customers.

The amount will be payable once approved by the network operator and within three months since the approval. It can be delivered both as a bank guarantee and a cash deposit.

Upon annexation of the site, the guarantee will be refunded to the investor company. If the investor has not submitted an application for the conclusion of a preliminary contract for connection, the network operator will deduct from the guarantee the costs incurred to ensure access to the site to the energy system, KEVR said.

A public discussion of the new regulation was held on August 29, and a large number of participants supported the proposed changes in principle, KEVR said. All interested parties had the opportunity to submit written opinions within 14 days.