Akuo to build 220 MWh SantasBAT in Portugal to co-locate BESS with existing solar park

Akuo has announced the start of construction on the 80 MW/220 MWh SantasBAT, a 2.75-hour BESS in Borba, Portugal, aiming for completion by the second quarter of 2027.

The system will be integrated directly with the company’s existing 181 MW Santas solar plant which has been operational since September 2024. The BESS will aim to shift on-site PV production into periods of peak demand and minimize curtailment during periods of excess generation.

The project secured nearly €15 million from Portugal’s Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), under the NextGenerationEU framework, part of a broader €100 million award covering around 500MW of storage projects allocated in spring 2025.

João Macedo, CEO of Akuo in Portugal, said: “SantasBAT will be a significant instrument for the energy transition that Portugal has been striving to promote within its electricity grid. Energy storage is a natural next step as renewable capacity grows. By providing essential ancillary services and enabling the shift of electricity generated during the day to periods of higher demand, storage helps reduce reliance on fossil fuels, supports greater integration of renewables, and strengthens Portugal’s energy independence.”

Portugal’s large-scale storage market has been gathering momentum. The country’s government is also preparing a new large-scale storage auction – already behind its original timeline – following last year’s Iberian Peninsula blackout, on top of the 500 MW of awards already made. IPPs including Sonnedix, Hyperion, and others have progressed projects to construction in the past twelve months, while a handful of smaller systems were commissioned over 2022–2025.

Akuo has occasionally handled in-house system integration on its BESS projects elsewhere, though it did not specify its approach for this one. The France-headquartered IPP has to date focused much of its storage activity on island markets.