ContourGlobal announces 9.5 GWh BESS acquisitions in Italy

ContourGlobal, a KKR company, has closed two acquisitions in Italy totaling more than 1,598 MW of storage projects, but said it could not yet name the sellers.

“We are working on other acquisitions,” the company told pv magazine Italia .

The first acquisition is a “strategic agreement” with an Italian renewable energy developer, covering approximately 1,500 MW of storage projects in various stages of maturity.

“There is an early-stage tranche and a more advanced tranche, each with 750 MW of power generation capacity. The most advanced tranche includes three projects (for a total of 260 MW) in Southern Italy that are in the advanced stage of authorization and are eligible for the first MACSE auction in September, and equipped with battery technology with an expected duration of between four and eight hours,” the company said.

According to ContourGlobal, the entire portfolio is expected to be commissioned in 2028. In addition to MACSE, KKR’s UK-based independent energy producer is also exploring opportunities in balancing markets or other commercial initiatives.

“This transaction is complemented by the acquisition of a 98 MW project in southern Italy from a pan-European renewable energy investment and development platform. This system, which is expected to come online in 2028, is designed to provide energy
for a period of four to eight hours, with a minimum of 400 MWh of storage capacity,” the company said in a statement.

This week, Galileo reported that it has completed the sale of a 98 MW, licensed battery storage project located in southern Italy to an unspecified international Independent Power Producer (IPP) with a growing presence in Italy.

In recent months, ContourGlobal reports having acquired BESS projects with a combined capacity of approximately 1.6 GW and a storage duration of up to eight hours.

“Once fully developed, the portfolio could reach a total energy storage capacity of nearly 9.5 GWh, strategically positioning the company for the upcoming MACSE auctions.”

In addition to Italy, ContourGlobal reports that it has projects totaling 3 GWh of energy storage capacity already in operation in several countries, including Chile and Bulgaria. “Additionally, there is over 1.3 GWh of storage projects under advanced development in the United States.”

From pv magazine Italia