DTEK, American Fluence to build Poland's BESS with capacity of 133 MW

The European renewable energy division of DTEK Group DRI and American Fluence Energy BV will build Poland's largest battery energy storage (BESS) project in the city of Trzebinia with a capacity of 133 MW.

"At 133 MW, DRI Trzebinia will be the largest battery energy storage (BESS) project in Poland under a 17-year capacity market contract, starting in 2027," Fluence reported in a press release on September 22.

As the company noted, the agreement was concluded two weeks after Fluence and DTEK launched a 200 MW BESS to increase Ukraine's energy security.

The project uses Fluence's Smartstack™ platform, which includes advanced cybersecurity tools to protect the Polish power grid.

"DRI, the EU renewables arm of Ukraine’s DTEK Group, has selected Fluence Energy B.V., a subsidiary of Fluence Energy, Inc., a global market leader delivering intelligent energy storage systems, to supply battery storage units for its 133 MW Trzebinia project in southern Poland," the document notes.

DRI’s Trzebinia project is due to be the largest battery storage facility taking part in the Polish Capacity Market when batteries are integrated into the system from 2027. Under capacity market system, batteries will help strengthen Poland’s energy security by providing an ‘energy reserve’ that can be dispatched in milliseconds to prevent outages in moments of system stress – for example, during peak demand or sudden drops in generation. Integrating battery technology in the capacity market will also lower energy costs as energy storage is cheaper to run than generation alternatives.

Additionally, by participating in arbitrage, batteries enable their operators to take advantage of lower wholesale prices by absorbing energy from the grid when prices are lower and releasing the energy when they are higher.

"We are confident that the Trzebinia BESS project will make a real difference, contributing to Poland’s energy transition and enhancing the grid’s ability to integrate renewable energy sources, while strengthening energy independence not only for Poland, but for the entire European Union," said Murat Cinar, CEO of DRI.

According to him, for DRI, this project marks another important step in developing its portfolio of solar, wind and BESS projects in fast-growing markets in the energy sector, such as Poland, Croatia, Italy and Romania.

In turn, according to Fluence’s Managing Director for Emerging Markets, Julian Jansen, Poland has the potential to become one of the top five European markets by 2030 and Fluence looks forward to increasing its investment in manufacturing in Poland.

"Fluence has delivered projects in the Baltics, Ukraine, and now Poland, all intended to help ensure energy security and grid-resilience across Central and Eastern Europe," he stressed.

According to S&P Global, installed energy storage capacity in Poland is projected to grow from 25 MWh at the end of 2024 to over 20 GWh by 2030.