Estonian renewable power and heat producer Utilitas has inaugurated Latvia's first utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS), featuring a capacity of 10 MW and 20 MWh.
Situated in the Ventspils region near the Targale wind park, the BESS project took approximately two years to complete and is set to connect to the Latvian electricity transmission system this autumn.
The project, which cost EUR 7 million (USD 7.62 million), was financed through a loan from OP Corporate Bank. The facility includes six battery containers, three inverter/transformer containers, and one distribution point container.
Its energy storage capacity is equivalent to powering an electric vehicle for 115,000 kilometers (71,457 miles), running a household washing machine for 19,000 cycles, or supplying electricity to nearly 3,000 homes for a single day.