Estonian energy company Eesti Energia has inaugurated the nation's largest battery energy storage system (BESS) facility at the Auvere industrial complex in Ida-Viru County, the capacity is 26.5 MW/53.1 MWh system
The battery energy storage system (BESS) project, which came with a price tag of €19.6 million, was commissioned on February 1 only a few days before the desynchronization of the Baltic electricity system from the Russian grid.
In similar moves, only a day before it began to unplug from Russia's electricity grid and join the EU's network, Lithuania announced 800 MWh PV energy storage tender to the tune of EUR 102 million ($ 105 million) with the goal to procure balancing services to the transmission system operator and ensure the resilience of its grid.
Previously, in November 2024, Latvia activated its first utility-scale battery storage project in preparation for the decoupling from Russian grid. The 10 MW/20 MWh BESS was added a to its 58.8 MW Targale Wind Park, which has been operating since 2022, and supplied by Chinese company Hoymiles.
Estonia's Auvere BESS project is designed to participate in both the electricity exchange and other energy markets to ensure the security of electricity supply. According to Eesti Energia board member Kristjan Kuhi, the battery is able to respond very effectively to fluctuations in the power system.
"This modern capacity significantly reduces the costs of balancing the Baltic electricity system and thus the end price for the consumer," Kuhi said. "An additional positive impact will also be felt in the day-ahead electricity market, where the battery will be able to smooth out high price peaks for consumers and create demand in the market during times of surplus production."
