Norwegian group Scatec ASA, one of the leading developers of renewable energy projects globally, plans to triple its global generation capacity by 2028, shifting its focus to Europe, where it sees high demand for storage batteries, which opens up new opportunities for the clean energy sector, reports Bloomberg.

Scatec wants to reach a global energy production capacity of 11 Gigawatts, from the three Gigawatts currently active or under construction, CEO Terje Pilskog said in an interview with Bloomberg, according to Agerpres. Part of this growth will come from a “rapid expansion” in Romania and an increase in energy storage assets more broadly, Pilskog said.

At the end of July, OX2 sold a 77 MW wind farm in Romania, at the ready-to-build stage, to Scatec ASA. The Urleasca wind farm, located in the south-east of Romania, will have 11 state-of-the-art Nordex N175/6.X MW turbines. Commissioning is planned for the second half of 2028.

Also, in February, the European Investment Bank (EIB) announced the allocation of 34 million euros to support the development of three photovoltaic parks in southwest Romania, which will have a combined capacity of 190 megawatts (MW). EIB support was granted to three Romanian solar energy companies, 65% owned by Norwegian renewable energy developer Scatec ASA and 35% by Defic Globe BV.

According to Terje Pilskog, Scatec is building wind, solar and energy storage projects in Romania with a combined capacity of around 350 MW, and production is expected to start next year.

Romania has become an attractive market for large batteries as the development of renewable projects puts pressure on the electricity grid. New renewable energy projects must be paired with storage facilities, which incentivizes investment in batteries.

“We can now develop renewable energy projects that are very grid-friendly or actually support the grid, and that’s a completely new situation compared to what was happening just a few years ago,” Pilskog said.

Scatec’s expansion in Europe is accompanied by new investments in emerging markets. Scatec estimates that in the next six months it will reach the stage of financial closure for three large projects in Egypt, with construction work to begin afterwards.