GridFlex to install standalone BESS in Serbia

GridFlex plans to install a standalone battery energy storage system with a capacity of 125 MWh near the city of Leskovac, in southern Serbia. The investment is estimated at EUR 17 million.

Serbia doesn’t have any utility-scale batteries, but many are in the project pipeline. GridFlex is one of 11 companies in the process of obtaining approvals from transmission system operator (TSO) Elektromreža Srbije (EMS) for the connection of planned standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS) to the network.

Mayor of Leskovac Goran Cvetanović met with representatives of Turkish company GridFlex, which has an office in Belgrade.

Battery systems provide flexibility to the system

The company is developing a project for a BESS that would provide system flexibility, support the integration of renewable energy sources, and contribute to the local economy, the city authority said.

GridFlex plans to invest EUR 17 million in the installation of an energy storage facility in Leskovac, the update revealed.

Owner and CEO of GridFlex Alkin Yaman participated in the meeting.

The deadline for completing the construction is the end of 2026

The planning and technical documentation for the facility is under development. The deadline for completing the facility is the end of 2026, while commissioning is expected in early 2027, the city stressed.

The battery would be installed on 1.5 hectares of privately owned land that the firm purchased near the Leskovac 2 substation.

The city will provide assistance to GridFlex for project implementation.

Three co-owners

The investment will secure numerous benefits for the city – the possibility of new investments, weakened load and voltage fluctuations in the power system, and an increase in the capacity for connecting new local consumers and producers to the grid, the local authority stressed.

According to data from the Business Registers Agency, the owners of GridFlex are Alkin Sevket Yaman, Sirin Cem, and Denis Severinov Karamov.

Of note, investors in Serbia are in the process of obtaining approvals for connecting their planned BESS facilities of an overall 2,021 MW and 5,899 MWh to the grid. They would be standalone batteries and ones co-located with power plants.