Asarel-Trade, Power Profit and Tesla are investing in a new 300 MWh energy storage project in the Sliven region of Bulgaria. The facility will have a five-hour discharge duration and is based on Tesla Megapack 2XL technology. According to local media reports, the installation will consist of 80 Tesla Megapack 2XL battery units paired with 20 transformers, each with a capacity of 4.4 MVA.
The investment in Tvarditsa is the first of three such systems planned through a partnership between Asarel-Trade, Power Profit, and Tesla. The combined storage capacity of the three projects will exceed 2,300 MWh.
“Whoever succeeds in building reliable and sustainable energy storage capacity holds the key to the future,” emphasized Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, who attended the groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday. He noted that Bulgaria already holds a leading position in Europe regarding the ratio of battery storage capacity to the size of its national power grid.
Minister of Energy Iva Petrova stated that Bulgaria has deployed storage systems with a total capacity of over 6 GW in less than a year and a half. She noted that the development of these technologies has contributed to the security of energy supply in the region during critical summer periods.
“We will make every effort to maintain this strategic advantage by taking the necessary measures,” said Petrova, as quoted by BTA. In his address to the participants, Rumen Sabev Radev, manager of Asarel-Trade, described the ceremony as the beginning of a long-term process that includes site preparation, infrastructure development, the implementation of the investment, and the connection of the facility to the national power grid. He expressed his confidence that the project would be completed on schedule and emphasized the importance of long-term investments in Bulgaria.
Meanwhile, Kaloyan Velichkov, founder and CEO of Sunotec, highlighted the significance of his company’s involvement in the project, describing the initiative as a major step forward in the development of high-tech energy infrastructure in Bulgaria.
Photo credit © ECONOMIC.BG / МЕ (source: https://www.economic.bg/bg/a/view/zapochna-stroitelstvoto-na-pyrvata-v-bylgarija-baterija-s-uchastieto-na-tesla)
