Enel to build 1.6 GW/6.6 GWh of storage capacity according to Italian capacity market plan

Italian state power utility Enel has announced that it has won 12.9 GW of the 41.5 GW of generating capacity awarded by Italian grid operator Terna in its latest capacity market auction.

"Enel has secured 10.4 GW of existing capacity, 1 GW of foreign capacity and 1.5 GW of new capacity, more than two-thirds of which will be met by battery energy storage systems (BESS), and the rest," the company said in a press release. Provided by renewable energy facilities and by upgrading and retrofitting some of the gas-fired power plants already in operation to ensure the adequacy and security of the Italian electricity system.”

A spokesman for Enel told pv magazine that the awarded storage capacity will come from 20 projects with a total capacity of 1.6 GW, of which 1 GW is contracted. "Half of the projects will be located in Sardinia and the other half will be located in mainland Italy," the spokesman added.

The energy storage facilities will be built using lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries with a total storage capacity of 6.6 GWh and are expected to be connected to the grid by 2024.

A spokesman for the company also revealed that about 40% of the remaining 11 GW of capacity awarded to Enel at the auction will be from renewable energy sources, with the remaining 60% coming from natural gas power plants.

In Italy, capacity market auctions began in 2019. The renewable energy industry often sees such procurement activities as a mechanism to help traditional power producers maintain market share.