Romania has surpassed 1 GW/2 GWh of installed utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS), according to figures provided by the Romanian Photovoltaic Industry Association (RPIA).
Irene Mihai, RPIA policy director, told ESS News that Romania currently has around 1.1 GW/2 GWh of installed utility-scale BESS, compared to 494 MW/914 MWh at the start of the year.
Recent developments in Romania’s storage market indicate that this growth trajectory is set to accelerate in the coming years. In March, Vienna-based independent power producer Enery said it secured financing for a 1 GWh BESS to be co-located with a 761 MW solar project in Romania. A month later, Austria’s Renalfa revealed it is planning 3.6 GWh of BESS, through a combination of both lithium-ion and sodium-ion solutions, across two renewable energy projects in Romania.
Mihai also revealed that Romania is set to launch a call for projects for standalone batteries, expected to support the deployment of around 3 GWh of BESS, in the near future. The European Commission gave the subsidy scheme the green light in March.
As of May this year, Romania’s energy regulator ANRE estimated storage capacity in the prosumer market at around 850 MW. Mihai also shared that the percentage of residential solar prosumers with batteries has increased from 23% at the start of the year to 33% now, while the percentage of C&I solar prosumers with batteries has increased from 7.5% to 10%.
Romania is planning to replace its rebate scheme for solar with support for prosumers looking to install batteries. At the time of the initial announcement, Mihai said that the focus of public support in Romania is gradually shifting from expanding solar capacity toward improving system flexibility and self-consumption through battery storage.
Mihai also said that storage is increasingly being perceived not only as an add-on technology, but as a key component of a more efficient and resilient rooftop PV system.
“While the BESS programme may not fully replace the deployment levels created by [the solar subsidy scheme], it should help sustain investment activity among existing prosumers and support the maturation of the Romanian rooftop PV market,” she said.
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