The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has agreed a €30 million loan to Tenevo Solar Technologies to build and operate one of Bulgaria's largest battery energy storage systems (BESS), located in Tenevo in the south-eastern part of the country. The financing is complemented by €30 million in parallel funding from Raiffeisen Bank International AG (RBI), creating a €60 million package covering construction and operation of the facility.
Project specifications
The Tenevo battery will have 246 MW of power capacity and 512.5 MWh of energy capacity — a configuration of roughly two hours of duration that places it among the largest standalone storage assets in Bulgaria and the wider south-eastern European region.
The project sits alongside the Tenevo solar PV plant, which the EBRD previously supported with a €50 million loan for the fully merchant photovoltaic facility. That combination of generation and storage at the same site is increasingly seen by lenders as a way to improve revenue certainty in markets without mature capacity remuneration mechanisms.
Bulgaria's storage market takes off
According to the latest estimates cited in the EBRD announcement, Bulgaria's battery storage capacity has already reached more than 6.2 GW / 19 GWh. The bank describes this as one of the country's most significant energy transition achievements, positioning Bulgaria among regional leaders in renewable energy integration and decarbonisation.
Battery storage is becoming increasingly important for decarbonising Bulgaria's power sector, improving flexibility and strengthening energy security as the country's renewable fleet grows.
The rapid build-out has been supported by EU funding channelled through Bulgaria's Recovery and Resilience Plan. From 2023 the EBRD worked with the Ministry of Energy on the design of grant schemes, competitive allocation rules and technical verification for renewable energy and electricity storage projects. September 2026 marked the successful completion of those schemes, which the bank says have transformed Bulgaria's renewable energy market.
Why it matters for EU storage
Bulgaria illustrates how a combination of EU recovery funding, development bank lending and commercial bank participation can accelerate storage deployment in a member state with a fast-growing solar fleet. The Tenevo transaction shows that international financial institutions are willing to underwrite merchant battery projects in central and south-eastern Europe, a segment that has historically struggled to reach financial close.
Source: EBRD
This article was assisted by AI analysis. Please refer to the original source for official information.