Slovenia-based GEN-I is running and optimizing a new 50 MW / 126 MWh battery energy storage system in northwestern Bulgaria for Sunotec. They are developing more such projects in the country under a five-year partnership.
Soon after its subsidiary GEN-I Invest completed the acquisition of three battery energy storage systems in Bulgaria, GEN-I went live with optimization and full commercial management of a major facility for Sunotec BESS. Its capability is 50 MW, with 126 MWh for storage. It further expanded the country’s fleet, which has by far the highest share of the domestic power system in the world!
Bulgarian news outlet Capital has calculated that operating power amounted to a whopping 4.8 GW at the end of June, with 14.7 GWh of capacity. It also makes Bulgaria the biggest live experiment of the potential so-called cannibalization effect in the segment. The update shows another 2.1 GW is in the pipeline, with an overall 6.1 GWh for storage.
Moreover, the country hosts Chaira, the biggest pumped storage hydropower plant in Southeastern Europe, of though half of it is out of order. But the authorities have identified ten more sites for such systems.
First operational milestone under five-year partnership
Bulgaria-based Sunotec and GEN-I officially established a five-year strategic partnership last year. The new standalone system, in Byala Slatina in Vratsa province in the northwest, has entered commercial operation under the Slovenian firm’s optimization and commercial asset management.
The partnership’s first operational milestone brought together Sunotec’s expertise in developing and delivering large-scale battery storage infrastructure and GEN-I’s experience in energy trading, flexibility services and multi-market optimization, the update reads.
GEN-I has high aspirations for operating BESS facilities in Balkans
According to the Slovenian company, the package provides the owner revenue certainty and market upside, without taking on the market and credit risks that managing a storage asset involves.
“The launch of our BESS asset management activities in Bulgaria marks an important strategic milestone for GEN-I. Our vision is bold yet simple: to become the leading BESS asset manager in the region,” Trading Director Jan Bohinec stated.
Sunotec said it is the largest battery storage developer and operator in the country and one of the most prominent partners in Europe for utility-scale solar and storage projects.
Notably, near Byala Slatina is a site for the Gabare solar power plant of 415 MW in peak capacity and a 600 MWh battery energy storage system. OMV Petrom and Enery Element are equal co-owners of the project firm.
