Photo: Sunterra RE
Bulgarian solar power plant operator Sunterra RE added co-located energy storage to its operational portfolio. The company’s three photovoltaic systems, with 524 MW in combined peak capacity, now also have batteries of 156 MW and 312 MWh in total.
With the ongoing solar boom in Bulgaria, investors have lately also been rushing to set up co-located and standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS). Bridging the gap between the peaks of daily photovoltaic production and power consumption is one of the key factors for the energy transition – stabilizing prices and the electricity system’s stability. Sunterra RE – Santera RE in Bulgarian – stands out with a large new operational solar and battery portfolio.
In its latest updates, the company revealed that it has put three BESS facilities into operation. They are co-located with its photovoltaic plants of 524 MW in total peak capacity.
There are 77 lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery units now online. They have an overall capability of 156 MW and a duration of two hours. It translates to 312 MWh in storage capacity.
The investments received support through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), funded from the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility – RRF. Sunterra RE said it completed them in less than a year.
Galabovo BESS accounts for half of battery operating power
The Kaloyan solar power plant of 208 MW, also known as Dalgo Pole, was the biggest in Bulgaria for a short while. It is backed with a 47 MW / 94 MWh facility, comprising 23 battery units.
The BESS investment at the site just north of Plovdiv was worth BGN 31.7 million (EUR 16.2 million).
The three subsidized battery projects were completed in less than a year
Accompanying the Galabovo solar power plant (201 MW) is a BESS with 75 MW in operating power. Sunterra RE said it consists of 37 battery containers. The Galabovo municipality is east of Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s second-largest city.
The remaining seventeen units, of 34 MW, make up the battery energy storage system at the Karlovo solar power plant. The PV facility in the eponymous municipality north of Kaloyanovo, has 115 MW.
The company’s fourth photovoltaic plant, in Pleven in the north, has only 9.6 MW.
Sunterra RE to expand its three new energy storage facilities by over 1 GWh altogether
Sunterra RE recently entered into a strategic partnership with Sungrow to expand the three BESS by more than 1 GWh in total. The deal is for the China-based partner’s MV-Power Titan 2.0 LFP units and accompanying equipment and software.
The city of Lovech, northeast of Sofia, hosts the strongest BESS in the Balkans – of 124.1 MW and 496.4 MWh. It is a standalone battery facility, part of a closed power distribution system.
Renalfa IPP and Eurowind Energy are installing a 315 MW / 760 MWh BESS at their Tenevo PV plant. They plan to turn it into the largest and most complex hybrid power plant in Bulgaria.
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