Galp, a leading oil, gas, and renewables company, has announced the commencement of construction on five new battery energy storage system (BESS) projects in Spain and Portugal. The projects, totaling 74MW/147 MWh, will be developed in collaboration with Sungrow, a global leader in inverter and BESS technology, leveraging their advanced PowerTitan 2.0 solution.
This initiative represents a significant step in Galp’s strategy to integrate renewable energy and enhance grid stability in the Iberian Peninsula. The projects will be hybridized with Galp’s solar facilities, enabling them to participate in a variety of energy markets and provide essential grid support services.
Strategic Investment in Portugal and Spain
In Portugal, four of the five projects, with a combined capacity of 60.5MW/120.4MWh, will be connected to Galp’s Alcoutim solar farms. These projects will receive partial funding from the Portuguese government’s €100 million scheme, which is supported by the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience framework. This investment builds on an existing 5MW/20MWh project, completed earlier this year, and further solidifies Portugal’s commitment to expanding its BESS capacity.
In Spain, a 14MW/28MWh BESS will be installed at a solar PV plant in Manzanares, located in the Castilla-La Mancha region. This project aligns with Spain’s own €700 million program for energy storage grants, reinforcing the country’s efforts to modernize its energy infrastructure.
The operation and optimization of all BESS projects will be managed by Galp’s state-of-the-art Control Center. This dispatch center, approved by the respective transmission system operators in both countries, centralizes the real-time management of Galp’s photovoltaic parks, energy storage units, and industrial consumption. This integrated approach allows for the maximization of energy value and operational efficiency.
Advanced Technology and Grid Services
The projects will feature Sungrow’s PowerTitan 2.0 solution, which includes advanced grid-forming inverters. This technology is a game-changer, as it allows the BESS facilities to operate independently of the grid to provide crucial system services. These capabilities include fast frequency reserve, voltage regulation, and synthetic inertia services, which are vital for maintaining grid stability as the share of intermittent renewables increases. Galp is already providing similar ancillary services with its existing BESS facility, demonstrating its expertise in this field.
The push for energy storage in the Iberian Peninsula has gained momentum following a region-wide blackout earlier this year, which highlighted the critical need for a more resilient and modern grid. Both Portugal and Spain have since accelerated their plans to invest in BESS capacity. This past week, Portugal announced a new €400 million investment to improve its grid management, underscoring the political and economic will to support these projects.
The business case for BESS in the region is increasingly strong, particularly when hybridized with solar PV. This was recently reinforced by the announcement of the region’s first hybrid solar-and-storage Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) by Zelestra and EDP, signaling a positive trend for future market developments.
