/SOFIA, BULGARIA, September 25, 2025, 10:00 CET, RENEWABLE MARKET WATCH™/
Sunterra RE has commissioned the largest battery energy storage system (BESS) at the Galabovo solar photovoltaic power plant, featuring an installed capacity of 75 MW and a usable capacity of 150 MWh. The project consists of 37 lithium-iron-phosphate batteries. Galabovo Solar is the largest part of Sunterra RE’s BESS initiative. The system stores renewable energy and releases it during peak demand, supporting grid stability and price predictability.
The installation of the storage system was accomplished in an impressively short timeframe of less than a year. This rapid completion encompassed not only the delivery and installation of the advanced lithium-iron-phosphate batteries, but also the integration of state-of-the-art inverters, robust transformer stations, a comprehensive cabling system, and a sophisticated intelligent control system. The coordinated efforts of the project team and suppliers ensured that each component was seamlessly installed and tested, allowing the entire system to be operational and ready to support the Galabovo Solar photovoltaic power plant’s energy management needs in record time.
“Our BESS program starts with the project in Galabovo. This is our first important step in declaring our ambition to be leaders in the energy storage sector,” said Emil Shopov, CEO of Sunterra RE. The company’s CFO, Nikola Anev, emphasized: “With its capacity, this system can provide significant flexibility to the electricity grid and contribute to reducing prices during peak hours.”
This BESS plant was implemented with the with contract PII BG-RRP-4.033-0011, funded under procedure BG-RRP-4.033 “Support for new renewable energy generation and electricity storage capacities with an installed capacity of over 200 kW,” Investment C4.I6: “Support for new capacities for electricity generation from renewable sources and electricity storage” from the National Recovery and Resilience Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria (NRRP). GULABOVO SOLAR BG Ltd. bears full responsibility for the content of the document.
The Bulgarian solar power market has been experiencing significant growth since 2021. As a result of the high economic growth in the last 3 years, industrialisation and urbanisation, the demand for new energy generation sources to replace the coal-based power plants in Bulgaria is increasing. By the end of 2024, Bulgaria had a cumulative installed solar capacity of 4,568 MW (4.57 GW), representing an increase of 1,283 MW (1.28 GW) compared to 2023.
For the first half of 2025, almost 450 MW (0.45 GW) of new solar power capacity has been installed in the country, and the cumulative capacity is currently close to 5,000 MW (5 GW).
In 2023, for the first time, Bulgaria joined the group of European countries that installed more than 1 GW of new capacity in a single year. Several large-scale solar photovoltaic (PV) projects with a power capacity above 100 MW were launched into commercial operation in Bulgaria between 2021 and 2024. The utility-scale sector dominates the installed solar capacity, with a share of 77%.
The battery energy storage system (BESS) market in Bulgaria will experience robust growth by 2030 in the co-located/behind-the-meter (BTM) and front-of-the-meter (FTM) segments. Together with the already approved at the end of April 2025, 82 projects for the construction of batteries for the storage of electricity under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan for nearly BGN 1.2 billion (€ 600 million), awaiting the signing of contracts, and 30 reserve projects for which additional money is still being sought through the new chapter of the plan – RePowerEU, Bulgaria intends to become a balancing force in the region.
By the end of 2027, Bulgaria is expected to install between 7 GWh and 11 GWh of new battery energy storage systems, according to the Central East and South East Europe Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) Market Outlook 2025 ÷ 2034.
For more information and answers to your questions about the Bulgarian solar and storage power market and related content, you may read here: Bulgaria Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Market Outlook 2025 ÷ 2034
For a better understanding of the benefits of using our reports, you may read here: Benefit List – Reports of Renewable Market Watch – 2025
Image Credit: Sunterra RE
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