The capacity of energy storage batteries in Romania is approaching the 400 MWh threshold. How much do we need?

The capacity of electricity storage batteries in Romania has now reached 398.8 MWh, corresponding to an installed power of 234.7 MW, according to the latest data from Transelectrica.

The newest large-capacity battery is a 37.5 MW installation with a capacity of 68.8 MWh, installed by Glyptodon in a mixed photovoltaic power plant, next to the 56 MW photovoltaic park in Carani, Timuș County. According to data from the Termene.ro platform, three of Glyptodon’s shareholders are also shareholders of Megalodon Storage, a company that put into operation, in the summer of 2023, the first battery in the national power system (SEN) with which the secondary frequency-power regulation is performed, with 7 MW power and 6 MWh capacity. Megaladon’s storage facility is located in the commune of Moara Vlăsiei, near Bucharest.

Here are all the energy storage facilities in Romania now, according to Transelectrica data:

“2024 was the year of the launch of storage in Romania. By the end of 2024, we had collected battery energy storage facilities totaling 137 MW and 269 MWh of capacity. This year, from what we have seen so far, we can hope to exceed 500 MW in power and over 1,000-1,200 MWh of capacity,” said the head of the National Energy Dispatch (DEN), Virgiliu Ivan, at the “Brașov Energy Day” event last month.

Ivan also said that, based on his data, most new storage facilities will be put into operation after mid-year.

“Energy is an unpolished diamond. Storage facilities have the role of polishing this diamond so that investors and the energy system benefit from its beauty. We must encourage investors to develop storage capacities,” the head of DEN added at the time. He said at the end of last year that SEN needs a lot of batteries in the context of the integration of renewables.

“As another 10,000 MW will be integrated into the system in renewable power plants, as the objectives are set (…) we have identified a need for 2,000 MW in power by 2030, optimally 3,000-4,000 MW, with a storage capacity 5-10 times greater than the installed power, we need to reach somewhere around 20,000 MWh. Storage capacities of one or two hours will no longer be sufficient in the near future,” Ivan explained at the time.

Analyzing the developments in the SEN during the Easter period, when the lowest grid consumption in Romania’s history was recorded, I wrote that the contribution of storage batteries has already been seen.

In November 2024, the Government approved a draft Emergency Ordinance on regulations related to energy storage in batteries and pumped storage plants. Romania assumes the development of 800 MW in pumped storage hydroelectric plants by 2030, as well as the installation of at least 2,000 MW in batteries by 2035, according to the substantiation note. The GEO provides for the elimination of double taxation of stored energy, upon takeover and introduction into the grid, which will reduce costs and stimulate investments in storage capacities, the Ministry of Energy said at the time.