BW ESS, ACL Energy to develop 2.9 GW of stand-alone BESS in Italy

BW ESS and ACL Energy have announced an expansion of their stand-alone BESS project portfolio in Italy, bringing their total development pipeline to 14 projects representing 2.9 GW of capacity across Italy’s North and South electricity zones.

The two companies began their partnership in February of this year with a commitment to develop three projects together with a total capacity of 0.4 GW. The latest expansion represents a portfolio growth of 600%.

“Based on the initial partnership set in February 2024, the two companies are now committed to co-developing eleven additional projects with a significant capacity of 2.5 GW,” the two companies said.

However, they did not clarify by when they intend to conclude the work and put the projects into operation.

“All projects have obtained land and access to the network and are advancing towards obtaining the necessary permits. In particular, seven of these projects, for a total of more than 1 GW, are already under review by the Ministry of Environment and Energy Safety (MAI),” they said in a statement.

The projects in the North of Italy will aim to participate in the Capacity Market, while those in the South aim to compete in the mechanism of supply of electrical storage capacity (Macse), the two companies added. The next Macse auction will be held in the first half of 2025, led by transmission system operator Terna.

ACL Energy, based in Milan, was assisted by Eversheds Sutherland, while BW ESS availed itself of Bird & Bird’s advice, with technical support from Kiwa Moroni.

“Strengthening our partnership with ACL Energy allows us to significantly expand our development activities in Italy. We believe that our shared portfolio represents one of the most important non-utility players in the Italian BESS market”, said Roberto Jiménez, Executive Director of BW ESS, of the BW Group, a group founded in 1955 which is now based in Singapore and Oslo.