On 20 October 2026, Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev, Energy Minister Iva Petrova and Innovation Minister Ivan Vasilev performed the groundbreaking for Battery Park Tvarditsa in the industrial zone of Tvarditsa, Sliven province. It is Bulgaria's first battery park built with Tesla equipment.

The configuration is 300 MWh of energy capacity with a five-hour duration, implying roughly 60 MW of power, an estimate by Teslant since the government did not disclose a power rating. The site will use 80 Tesla Megapack 2XL units and 20 Tesla transformers of 4.4 MVA each.

First of three parks, more than 2,300 MWh in total

Tvarditsa is the first of three projects developed by Bulgarian companies Asarel Trade and Power Profit in partnership with Tesla. The other two parks are planned in Stara Zagora and Veliko Tarnovo. The combined programme totals more than 2,300 MWh and over €350 million, although no individual capacity figures, dates or site-level values for Tvarditsa were disclosed by the government.

Bulgaria positions itself as a storage leader

Energy Minister Iva Petrova said Bulgaria had brought more than 6GW of storage into operation in less than one and a half years, adding that the fleet also helped supply neighbouring countries during the summer. Prime Minister Radev presented Bulgaria as a European leader in battery energy storage capacity, saying the country confidently holds the key to reliable, competitive and sustainable energy storage, and framing the project as evidence of deepened technology cooperation with the United States.

After the ceremony, Radev and the two ministers met Tesla representatives to discuss potential further investments in Bulgaria, without giving details. It was not stated whether Tesla is only supplying equipment or will also build and maintain the plant, as it does for Belgium's Green Turtle park. Tesla registered a Bulgarian subsidiary for direct car sales and service in April 2026.

How Tvarditsa compares with other Tesla projects in Europe

Among Tesla's European energy deals, Tvarditsa is mid-sized but concrete. The NatPower framework agreement for 25GWh covers Italy and the UK, and the Zhero agreement in Italy covers about 3GWh; both are framework deals spanning future projects. Belgium's Green Turtle is a single 2,800 MWh facility using the newer Megapack 3, scheduled for completion by end-March 2028. Tvarditsa is smaller, uses the already-shipping Megapack 2XL, and is due to operate nine months to a year earlier.

Source: Teslant

This article was assisted by AI analysis. Please refer to the original source for official information.