Big things ahead for Romanian BESS investments

The BESS market in Romania is heating up, say local analysts and insiders. Irene Mihai, policy officer at the Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA) recently told pv magazine that a realistic target for the utility-scale BESS segment in Romania “would be around 2 GWh (around 1 GW of installed capacity)” for 2030.

“Now, we stand at close to 150 MW of BESS,” said Mihai, adding: “The transmission system operator stated that by the end of this year, we should cross the 500 MW threshold.”

Romania’s energy minister Sebastian Burduja said in early April that the country has increased its battery capacity to almost 400 MWh, from just 8 MWh a year ago. He added that the Romanian government will commit €380 million from the National Recovery and Resilience Fund and the Modernisation Fund to building BESS, with the goal of exceeding 3 GWh in the coming years.

Analyst Aurora Energy Research predicts BESS investments in Romania will reach into the billions before long. Based on its modeling, Aurora foresees double digit internal rates of return for standalone BESS projects entering the market as early as 2026, while co-located assets could prove even more promising – especially post 2028 where rising saturation in the balancing markets is observed, it said.

“As other European BESS markets become increasingly saturated, Romania stands out,” said Evangelos Gazis, Aurora’s head of Southeastern Europe, adding that the investment case for storage is strengthened by wind and solar’s rapid expansion driving high volatility in wholesale and balancing markets.

Interesting activity

Indeed, there has been some interesting activity in the market of late. Many of it is co-located with other sources of generation, similar to what Aurora’s modeling predicts. Hidroelectrica, a major state-owned utility, made its first foray into lithium-ion BESS with a €16 million investment in a 72 MWh project to be located at its existing 108 MW Crucea Nord Wind Farm in Constanța County.

Hidroelectrica signed the contract for the battery with a consortium of two Romanian companies, Prime Batteries Technology and Enevo Group. The implementation deadline is 12 months from the beginning of April.

According to a statement by Burduja, “The investment will directly contribute to reducing internal imbalances in the wind farm, improving turbine performance, and providing balancing services for the entire national energy system.”

Romania-based BESS specialist Prime Batteries Technology will be the supplier. The company is part of EIT InnoEnergy’s portfolio. It designs and makes lithium-ion batteries and battery packs for multiple sectors, ranging from energy storage to automotive. Enevo Group’s technical director, Radu Brasoveanu, said the business would provide “competitive technical solutions” to the project for it to contribute to the adaptability and resilience of Romania’s grid.

Other Romania-based companies, such as Parapet and Waldevar Energy, have told pv magazine that adding BESS to their renewable assets is a top priority.