Image courtesy BW ESS
Global energy storage owner-operator BW ESS and Spanish energy storage developer Ibersun have signed a joint venture to develop, in its first phase, 2.2GW of utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects across Spain.
The joint venture, targeting greenfield, four-hour duration assets, will progress an initial 2.2GW pipeline of eight projects across Spain.
These projects will be owned equally by BW ESS and Ibersun. The partners expect each project to achieve Ready-to-Build status within two years and anticipate pursuing a diverse range of revenue generation strategies.
BW ESS in a release says that Spain’s increasing need for energy storage capacity is driven by a growth of solar and wind generation, intensified by the limited interconnection between the Iberian peninsula and its European neighbours.
In addition to stabilising the energy grid, the expansion of Spain’s BESS fleet will also prevent energy from being wasted when supply exceeds demand.
Limited interconnection specifically has been a pressing issue following the nationwide outage in April, with the EIB last week announcing €1.6 billion ($1.9 billion) to finance the construction of the Bay of Biscay electricity interconnection between Spain and France. Biscay, being the same province where Ibersun is located, in Getxo.
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Commenting in a release was Isaac Garcia Moreno, executive director of BW ESS: “We are proud to be developing our first projects in Spain with Ibersun, a trusted partner with over 25 years of market experience.
“We have a common objective to improve Spain’s grid resilience and support the market’s ambitious energy storage growth targets. Recent events have underlined that there’s no time to waste in working towards these goals, and we look forward to applying a wealth of experience drawn from multiple global markets to the Spanish context.”
Javier Arkotxa and Jose Antonio Gutiérrez, directors and founders of Ibersun, added: “It’s essential for us that our work blends seamlessly and respectfully with its surroundings and we are delighted to be partnering with a business who shares these priorities.
“Spain is one of the largest markets for BESS and our joint venture with a global leader like BW ESS is going to help us in our efforts to continue developing the country’s energy potential.”
The Spanish battery energy storage market is growing to become one of the largest in Europe and the country’s National Integrated Energy and Climate Plan sets the target at 22.5 GW by 2030.
Based in the Basque Country and founded by executives with more than 25 years’ experience in the energy sector in Spain and worldwide, Ibersun has been developing renewable energy projects in Spain since its establishment in 2019 with a focus on solar and, more recently, BESS.
On the side of BW ESS, the project is the latest in announcements coming from the UK-based company, which in May secured financing for its 331MWh BESS in the UK, preceded by a deal with Nordea Bank on financing for a 211MW Swedish battery portfolio.
