EU’s Largest BESS Project Now Online in Bulgaria

A battery energy storage system (BESS) described as the largest deployed to date in the European Union has been commissioned in Bulgaria. Officials with the country’s Ministry of Energy said the 124-MW/496.2-MWh BESS, also called the largest in the Balkans, supports the stability of Bulgaria’s power grid along with its transition to the use of more renewable energy resources.

The system, located in Lovech, includes 111 battery containers with lithium iron phosphate devices. It was developed by Advance Green Energy AD, a company owned by brothers Kiril and Georgi Domuschiev. Zhecho Stankov, Bulgaria’s energy minister, said the project is “the first step” toward the country’s goal of deploying at least 10 GWh of battery energy storage over the next year. The country in a recent tender awarded just more than 9.7 GWh of energy storage contracts.

The new BESS is located adjacent to a 106.2-MW solar energy park in the Balkan Industrial Park in Lovech. The project represents an investment of about $84.7 million. It was completed in six months. It is designed to charge its batteries during periods of low electricity prices, and discharge energy during periods of peak demand for electricity.

The “European Market Outlook for Battery Storage,” released earlier in May by SolarPower Europe, said Europe installed a record 21.9 GWh of battery energy storage in 2024.

Stability for Bulgaria’s Energy System

Stankov at a recent inauguration ceremony for the project said the BESS will help Bulgaria continue to be an important player in the electricity market in Southeast Europe. The project is part of an initiative to develop a closed, licensed electricity distribution system to support the country’s energy management and energy efficiency.

*Zhecho Stankov, Bulgaria’s Minister of Energy, visits the BESS site in Lovech. Source: Ministry of Energy of Bulgaria*

“The facility, built from 111 battery containers on the territory of Lovech, will help Bulgaria’s energy system remain the most stable in the region. We are the pillar in the Balkans and in Southeastern Europe that balances electricity systems and we have proven this with actions,” said Stankov.

The new BESS joins a 25-MW/55-MWh project in Razlog, in southwestern Bulgaria, that came online in 2024. That project was developed by Renalfa IPP, a Vienna, Austria-based energy group. The installation is managed by KER Toki Power, a fully digital Bulgarian electricity trader.

—Darrell Proctor is a senior editor for POWER.