The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing €70 million ($82 million) in financing to support the development of a large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) and battery energy storage system (BESS) project in Hungary.
The funding forms part of a broader €210 million financing package for the project, which is being developed by independent power producer Renalfa IPP. The hybrid facility will combine a 450MW solar PV plant with a co-located 250MW/1GWh battery energy storage system, making it one of the largest projects of its kind in the country.
According to the EBRD, the transaction represents one of the first examples of project financing for a utility-scale hybrid renewable energy asset in Central and Eastern Europe.
When operational, the project is expected to generate approximately 448GWh of renewable electricity annually, contributing to Hungary’s target of sourcing 30% of its gross final energy consumption from renewables by 2030.
Renalfa IPP chief executive Ivo Prokopiev said: “We are thankful to EBRD for its continuous support for our innovative business models and cutting-edge technologies. When operational later this year, this large hybrid asset will allow us to offer green baseload products to Hungarian electricity market and a number of flexibility services to the grid.”
The project is intended to address intermittency challenges associated with solar generation while enhancing grid flexibility and energy security in Hungary’s electricity system. The EBRD said the investment aligns with its strategy to support the green energy transition and strengthen energy resilience in the country.
Renalfa IPP, a joint venture between Austria’s Renalfa Solarpro Group and France-based RGreen Invest, has more than 1GW of renewable projects in late-stage development across Central and Eastern Europe.
Photo: a field of solar photovoltaic panels by Andreas Gücklhorn on Unsplash
