Renalfa IPP expands its Tenevo, Kaolinovo PV plants in Bulgaria with batteries

Vienna-based Renalfa IPP commissioned a 65 MW / 260 MWh battery energy storage system within its hybrid power plant project in Tenevo. Also in Bulgaria, the joint venture expanded its Kaolinovo solar power plant to 33 MW and added a BESS of 33 MW in operating power and 110 MWh in capacity.

One of the biggest hybrid power plants in Southeastern Europe is gradually coming together. Renalfa IPP, which last year marked the start of the BESS boom in Bulgaria, said it added a battery system of 65 MW in capability and 110 MWh in capacity to the Tenevo solar power plant.

Project firm Tenevo Solar Technologies is a joint venture with Denmark-based Eurowind Energy. Renalfa IPP, headquartered in Austria’s capital city, is itself a joint venture, established by clean energy and e-mobility company Renalfa Solarpro Group and French renewable energy infrastructure fund manager RGreen Invest.

Ultimately, the plan is to build a 250 MW wind farm at the Tenevo site, in Yambol province in Bulgaria’s southeast. The first 69 MW in peak capacity of the solar power plant came online two months ago, within a 237.6 MW project.

Tenevo BESS to grow to 315 MW

Tenevo is one of the biggest co-located BESS projects in Europe to date, according to Renalfa IPP, which added that it surpassed 1 GWh of energy storage in operation.

The firm aims to increase the battery facility to 315 MW and 760 MWh by early next year, when it expects to complete the solar park as well.

Solarpro Bulgaria builds both battery storage facilities

The project manager for the Tenevo BESS is Solarpro Bulgaria, part of Renalfa Solarpro Group, while Hithium and Kehua supplied the equipment. Solarpro and Hithium established cooperation two years ago and recently expanded it.

The same affiliate was the project manager and engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for the expansion of the Kaolinovo photovoltaic park in northeastern Bulgaria. Renalfa IPP said it grew to 33 MW in peak capacity from 10 MW, while a BESS of 33 MW and 110 MWh was also added. The facility was built in 2012.

Renalfa IPP is also active in Hungary, Romania, and North Macedonia, where it is about to add batteries to its Oslomej PV plant. In the last update, it said it has 554 MW in operational generating assets, BESS of 455 MW and 1.01 GWh in total, and over 1 GW of projects in late-stage development.