Poland roundup: Statkraft 700 MW BESS portfolio, LGES battery manufacturing, grid-scale battery financing

The Polish branch of Statkraft, Europe’s largest producer of renewable energy, has built a portfolio of 700 MW of battery energy storage projects. The Oslo-headquartered company is looking to implement battery storage mainly in colocation with renewables to support flexibility amid growing variable energy generation.

“At Statkraft Poland, we want to participate in the development of the renewable energy market in Poland in a responsible manner, which is why most of the investments we design assume the implementation of renewable installations co-located with energy storage facilities,” said country manager Michał Smyk.

Statkraft Poland has already secured grid connection for its battery storage projects which it aims to deploy in the vicinity of key power supply points.

Statkraft has been operating in Poland’s renewable energy trading market since 2018. In 2022, it started investing in local renewable energy assets, including solar, onshore wind and energy storage projects. 

Statkraft currently has eight battery assets in its European portfolio in the UK, Ireland and Germany that are either operational or under construction, it said.

LG Energy Solution has confirmed that its manufacturing facility in Wroclaw, Poland, is establishing dedicated ESS production lines that will commence production later this year.

This move is expected to give the company a competitive edge in terms of local responsiveness, lower logistics costs, and quicker adaptation to market changes. With the Wroclaw facility, LG Energy Solution is uniquely positioned as the only ESS manufacturer capable of producing everything from cells to systems within Europe.

The company also reaffirmed its commitment to delivering highly customized turnkey solutions tailored to different customers and projects in cooperation with local partners including system integrators and EPC firms.

Earlier this year, LG Energy Solution confirmed that it had signed an agreement with Polish utility PGE to supply 981 MWh of grid-scale ESS batteries to its Zarnowiec battery energy storage project between 2026 and 2027. It also noted that the project will be supplied with locally manufactured grid-scale lithium iron phosphate batteries at LG Energy Solution’s production facility in Poland.

LG Energy Solution will also be in charge of the project design and construction on a turnkey basis. Completion of construction is scheduled for 2027.

Israeli agri-food tech company N2OFF has announced that it is taking part in financing of a 35 MW/140 MWh planned BESS project in Poland. This marks the company’s entry into the Polish renewable energy market via its partnership with Israeli renewables developer Solterra Ltd.

N2OFF, along with other lenders, will assist with financing an initial payment under a signed grid connection agreement. Future development plans include applying for an increase in capacity to more than 100 MW/400MWh.

N2OFF is one of four financing partners involved in a structured agreement, with repayment expected upon the project’s sale within a period of up to 30 months. In addition to recovering their principal investment, each lender will receive a share of the net profits proportional to their contribution. N2OFF is entitled to 15% of the net profit generated from the transaction.