BW ESS and Ibersun have signed a joint venture agreement to develop utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) across Spain.
Under the partnership, the two energy storage companies will develop eight BESS projects with a total capacity of 2.2GW.
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 22.5GW by 2030.
Spain’s increasing need for energy storage capacity is driven by a growth of solar and wind generation and 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.
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.
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 renewables in Spain since its establishment in 2019.
BW ESS executive director Isaac Garcia Moreno said: “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.”
In a joint statement, Ibersun directors and founders Javier Arkotxa and Jose Antonio Gutiérrez said: “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.”