Romania opens EUR 150 million pot for co-located battery storage

Romania has launched a new subsidy scheme for behind-the-meter battery energy storage systems to the tune of EUR 150 million ($158 million).

With the funding secured from the Modernization Fund, the Ministry of Energy launched the competitive bidding call on Tuesday. Bids will be accepted until January 17, 2025.

Under the scheme, grants will be available for battery storage systems built alongside existing renewable energy plants – wind, solar or hydro. The storage capacity should annually absorb at least 75% of the energy produced by the renewable energy facility to which it is directly connected.

Bids expressed in EUR/MWh are the single criteria for ranking in this procurement exercise. The projects are to be submitted via an electronic platform that can be accessed here: https://mysmis2021.gov.ro/

Sebastian Burduja, minister of energy, said storage is “the zero priority” of Romania’s energy system. “After the success of the [national recovery and resilience plan] PNRR call for the storage of green energy in batteries, we attracted another 150 million euros, non-refundable funds, from the Modernization Fund, a call that we are launching today,” he said on November 19.

“With the completion of these projects, Romania will have more energy, will no longer depend on others for imports and will be able to support a competitive economy, with better paying jobs and lower bills for domestic consumers. We stick to our motto: investment, investment, investment,” the minister said.

By July this year, Romania allocated EUR 80 million under its national recovery and resilience plan (PNRR) for energy storage projects, which is expected to result in contracts for a total of 1.8 GW of capacity.

Earlier in November, the Ministry of Energy allocated EUR 30 million in non-reimbursable support via PNRR for 791.48 MWh of battery energy storage. Once delivered, the five projects will see Romania meet 20% of its storage needs, according to the ministry’s announcement.

Another EUR 300 has been allocated from the Modernization Fund – EUR 150 million each for this year and next year – and this is expected to deliver at least 3 GW of storage.

Earlier this year, Burduja said the country should have at least 2.5 GW of energy storage installed by the end of 2025 and more than 5 GW only a year later.