01 · In focus
Greece opens its power market to battery storage
2 Apr
On 2 April 2026, the Hellenic Energy Exchange admitted batteries to its day-ahead and intraday markets for the first time. Greece has 12.2 GW of installed solar and curtailment that hit 11% of PV output in 2025.
BG IBEX price jump
136.6
EUR/MWh · vs 67.5 on 27 Feb
PPC + Metlen JV
1,500 MW
BESS pipeline · BG/RO/IT
N. Macedonia: 1 GW PV
1.2 GW
+210 MW added in 2025
02 · Market snapshot
8-country capacity tracker · March 2026 update
EU member
Western Balkans
| Country |
PV (GW) |
Wind (GW) |
Hydro (GW) |
BESS status |
Change |
Bulgaria |
~6.0 |
0.7 | 3.2 |
Active |
202 MW online |
Romania |
>7.0 |
3.8 | 6.5 |
Active |
New grid rules |
Greece |
12.2 |
5.8 | 3.2 |
Active |
Market access |
Serbia |
~0.35 |
0.8 | 2.8 |
Emerging |
Pipeline growing |
N. Macedonia |
1.2 |
0.05 | 0.7 |
Emerging |
1 GW milestone |
Kosovo |
~0.1 |
0.0 | 0.3 |
None |
- |
Montenegro |
~0.1 |
0.12 | 0.66 |
None |
- |
BiH |
~0.3 |
0.6 | 2.2 |
None |
- |
Sources: ENTSO-E, pv-magazine, Balkan Green Energy News, national associations. Data as of April 2026. PV figures are end-2025 where available.
03 · BESS tracker
Storage moving from pipeline to operation in EU markets
Bulgaria · Commissioned
ContourGlobal 202 MW / 500 MWh - Stara Zagora
Online since January 2026. Standalone BESS, one of the largest in continental Europe. Participating in day-ahead and intraday markets.
Greece · Regulatory shift
Hellenic Energy Exchange admits BESS to spot markets
2 April 2026. First battery participation in Greek spot markets. Priority Regime fast-tracks grid connection for up to 4.7 GW of standalone storage, no operational subsidies.
Romania · In development
1.2+ GW standalone BESS pipeline
Enery: 1+ GWh BESS co-located with 761 MWp solar. Nuvve + Omnia Global: 60 MW / 120 MWh in Brasov (COD Q4 2026). Renalfa Power Clusters acquired two additional projects.
Serbia · Pipeline
Fortis Energy: 270 MWp + 72 MWh BESS, Sremska Mitrovica
Construction permit in hand. Start Q2 2026. Will be among the largest solar plus storage projects in SEE.
Price signal: Bulgaria IBEX day-ahead reached 136.6 EUR/MWh on 2 April, up from 67.5 EUR/MWh on 27 February. Linked to the Middle East conflict and gas price shock. A direct argument for BESS arbitrage in the Bulgarian market.
04 · Deal flow
Cross-border JVs and record-low CfD pricing in Romania
BG / RO / IT · JV · 9 March 2026
PPC Group + Metlen: 1,500 MW / 3,000 MWh BESS
50/50 JV. LFP liquid-cooled, 2-hour duration. 1,000 MW targeted within 12 months. Largest single BESS commitment in the region to date.
Romania · CfD Round 2 · August 2025
1.49 GW solar awarded at avg. 40.35 EUR/MWh - 45% below ceiling
New Transelectrica grid rules in force from 2026: competitive auctions for connection capacity at projects 5 MW and above. PPA activity expected to pick up as CfD winners seek offtakers for remaining capacity.
Serbia · Agreement
UGT Renewables + Hyundai Engineering: 1.2 GW solar + 200 MW BESS
EUR 1.6bn investment. Government-guaranteed financing through EPS. Expected in operation by 2028.
N. Macedonia · Alcazar Energy
Stip wind farm - largest RES project in the country
Announced 2 April 2026. Capacity not yet disclosed.
05 · Policy watch
Grid reform in Romania, BESS framework in Greece, new energy law in N. Macedonia
Romania
Transelectrica's new grid allocation rules effective 2026: annual competitive auctions for connection capacity at projects above 5 MW. Auction revenues fund grid reinforcement. Romania moves to an EU-standard grid access model.
Greece
Priority Regime for BESS allocates 4,700 MW of grid connection for standalone storage with no operational subsidies. Revenue is market-based. The industry puts the number needed to address curtailment at 8 GW.
N. Macedonia
New Energy Law (May 2025) now in effect: annual energy infrastructure plan, storage as a separate regulated activity, household PV limit raised from 6 kW to 10 kW. Ministry approved 59 PV projects (3+ GW) and 96 storage facilities (2.2 GW / 4.9 GWh) for 2026.
BiH / Geopolitics
Republika Srpska offering BAM 400M in guarantees for coal capacity - a clear counter-signal to the energy transition. Greece's energy minister stated Serbia cannot be excluded from the Vertical Gas Corridor for US LNG.
06 · Elevat angle
BESS bankability: the dispatch gap is still open
Greece opened its BESS market on 2 April. That is good news. The problem is that most battery offers we see across SEE still do not include a dispatch strategy in the term sheet. A 200 MW battery without a revenue model is expensive infrastructure, not a bankable asset. The PPC-Metlen JV and Romania's 40 EUR/MWh CfD pricing are forcing developers to sharpen their numbers. Projects with a clear dispatch logic - arbitrage, FCR, PPA firming - will get financed. The rest will wait.