EBRD backs 1 GWh battery and 450 MW solar hybrid in Hungary

Contents

Merchant hybrid without subsidy or corporate PPA
What the 1 GWh of storage is meant to do
A precedent for storage-backed solar in CEE

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is lending €70 million to special purpose vehicles owned by Renalfa IPP, an independent power producer active across Central and Eastern Europe, for a hybrid solar-plus-storage project in northeastern Hungary. According to the bank’s announcement, the loan is part of a €210 million financing package with commercial banks covering a 450 MW solar PV portfolio and co-located battery energy storage systems (BESS) totalling 250 MW / 1 GWh.

Merchant hybrid without subsidy or corporate PPA

The package will fund the development, construction and operation of the portfolio. The EBRD describes the deal as one of the first instances of project financing for a utility-scale hybrid renewable asset in Central and Eastern Europe. The electricity produced by the solar parks will be sold on the Hungarian market without a support scheme or a corporate power purchase agreement, which the bank sees as a strong signal for the long-term viability of private renewable investment in the country.

What the 1 GWh of storage is meant to do

By integrating utility-scale battery storage with solar generation, the project is expected to address intermittency, increase grid flexibility and improve energy security in a market facing growing volatility, the EBRD says. Once operational, the hybrid is expected to deliver around 448 GWh of renewable electricity, ranking it among the largest renewable developments in Hungary. Renalfa IPP CEO Ivo Prokopiev said the asset will allow the company to offer green baseload products to the Hungarian electricity market as well as a number of flexibility services to the grid.

A precedent for storage-backed solar in CEE

For Grzegorz Zielinski, EBRD Director and Head of Energy Europe, pairing large-scale solar with battery storage sets an important precedent for the wider Central and Eastern Europe region. The deal also marks the bank’s return to the Hungarian energy sector: according to Anca Ionescu, EBRD Regional Head for Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic, it is the EBRD’s first energy project in the country since 2010. Renalfa IPP is a joint venture between Renalfa Solarpro Group and French infrastructure fund manager RGREEN INVEST. The EBRD has invested more than €3.7 billion in Hungary across 220 projects to date.