Bulgarian tender awards more than 4 GWh of energy storage capacity across 31 projects

Bulgaria’s Ministry of Energy will pump a total of BGN 228.9 million ($137.8 million) into 31 energy storage facilities following the conclusion of the country’s National Renewable Energy Storage Infrastructure RESTORE 2 procurement plan – its second big energy storage subsidy scheme this year.

The 31 projects will create more than 4 GWh in usable energy storage capacity, the Ministry said.

RESTORE 2 was launched in August 2025 with the goal of supporting the construction and commissioning of national infrastructure from renewable energy storage facilities with at least 1.9 GWh of standalone energy storage capacity.

RESTORE 2’s completion follows the success of the previous RESTORE scheme which concluded in April and selected 82 standalone renewable energy storage projects, with a total investment exceeding BGN 1.15 billion ($675 million).

ESS News previously reported that the chosen projects under RESTORE 1 will deliver a combined usable energy storage capacity of nearly 10 GWh – more than three times the original 3 GWh target set by the tender.

A total of 93 project proposals were submitted for RESTORE 2 by the deadline of November 19 and the evaluation of the project proposals was successfully completed on December 15. The Bulgarian government noted a lot of interest in the round.

Due to a shortage of funds, 30 of the proposals, worth just over BGN 100 million, will be included in a reserve list.

The projects will be built across the country and will be connected to the electricity transmission network of the Electricity System Operator or to an electricity distribution network.

RESTORE 2 falls under Bulgaria’s National Recovery and Sustainability Plan and is funded by the European Union.