Fortis inks deal for batteries for North Macedonia’s largest PV plant

The Oslomej solar park, operated by Fortis Energy, is getting a battery system of 62 MW in capability. The Turkey-based company hired Pomega for the investment. It would make the second-largest photovoltaic unit in the Western Balkans a hybrid power plant.

Fortis Energy completed the biggest solar power plant in North Macedonia in 2023 and began generating electricity in 2024. State-owned power utility Elektrani na Severna Makedonija, ESM, selected the Turkish company for a public-private partnership in 2021 for 50 MW. It expanded the Oslomej project to 79.9 MW in peak capacity and a 68.7 MW connection, and now it is about to add batteries and turn it into a hybrid power plant.

The location is in REK Oslomej, one of two coal mining and power complexes in the country. The solar power plant at a depleted open cast mine has an estimated annual output of 120 GWh. It comprises almost 124,000 PV panels.

The lithium ion BESS is envisaged with a capacity of 104 MWh

Fortis Energy said it hired Pomega Energy Storage Technologies (PESS) to install a lithium ion battery energy storage system (BESS) of 62 MW in operating power. The capacity is 104 MWh, which means the facility can release electricity for up to two hours at its maximum capability.

The Istanbul-based firm said the deal is worth USD 19.65 million.

Batteries to be installed by year end

The integration of the battery energy storage system is expected to be completed and the facility commissioned in the second half of 2025, Fortis Energy revealed.

Pomega is a subsidiary of Kontrolmatik Technologies. The firm makes battery cells, modules and turnkey energy storage systems in Polatlı in the Ankara province.

Major solar power projects swamping Western Balkans

Renalfa IPP is ESM’s other private partner, also for 50 MW in Oslomej. Fortis Energy’s plant is the biggest in North Macedonia and second-biggest in the Western Balkans. It trails only the Karavasta facility in neighboring Albania.

Several large photovoltaic projects are underway in the region, not unlike in Western and Southern Europe and the rest of the Balkans. But most are in the early stages of development, advancing only slowly toward the construction phase.

Like elsewhere, poor grid connection capacity and the lack of storage are common issues. With its pioneering project in North Macedonia, Fortis Energy could pave the way for battery technology in the Western Balkans.