The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has approved up to €44 million in project financing for one of Romania’s first utility-scale standalone battery energy storage systems (BESS). The transaction is intended to support Central and Southeast Europe’s energy transition.
The Scornicești project is located in Scornicești and will provide 127 MW of installed power. The facility is set to have 254 MWh of storage capacity. It is jointly developed by R.Power and Eiffel Investment Group through its infrastructure investment platform focused on the energy transition.
Project design and role in grid flexibility
Once operational, the battery is expected to rank among Romania’s largest standalone storage facilities. The system is designed to provide grid flexibility rather than being paired with a single renewable-generation asset. The development combines R.Power’s renewable generation background with Eiffel Investment Group’s infrastructure focus.
The financing is structured as non-recourse project finance provided by the EBRD. Under the arrangement, repayment will depend primarily on the project’s own revenues rather than the sponsors’ balance sheets. This approach ties debt service to operating performance and market participation outcomes.
EBRD funding structure and InvestEU first-loss support
Within the overall package, €29 million benefits from an InvestEU first-loss guarantee. The guarantee is intended to reduce financing risk for lenders participating in the transaction. The use of first-loss support reflects how European financial institutions share early-stage commercial risk in emerging energy technologies.
Romania has seen rapid growth in renewable electricity generation, including new solar and wind capacity entering the system. Transmission infrastructure and system flexibility have not kept pace, increasing renewable curtailment during periods of excess generation. Balancing costs have also risen when renewable output is low.
Market participation model for ancillary services and balancing
The Scornicești battery is expected to address these system challenges by absorbing surplus electricity during low-price periods. It would then release stored power when demand and prices increase. The facility is also described as operating largely under a merchant business model rather than relying primarily on regulated revenues.
Revenue generation is expected to come from participation in Romania’s developing ancillary-services and balancing markets. The project will operate under an optimisation agreement with regional electricity trader GEN-I. This structure links earnings to market activity rather than capacity payments or long-term regulated contracts alone.
Regional implications for storage financing
The project is positioned as establishing precedents for institutional investors, lenders and infrastructure funds in Romania. It supports the view that standalone battery storage can be treated as a financeable infrastructure asset within the country. It also reflects how merchant-revenue structures can be compatible with limited-recourse financing frameworks.
The implications are described as extending beyond Romania across Serbia, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia and Montenegro. In those markets, renewable development pipelines are continuing while grid operators face congestion, renewable curtailment and balancing challenges. As intraday price spreads widen and negative pricing becomes more frequent, the commercial case for large-scale storage is described as strengthening.
Broader shift in European energy investment priorities
The financing also reflects a broader evolution in European energy finance toward integration infrastructure for renewables. During the previous decade, institutional capital focused primarily on financing renewable-generation assets. Storage, digital grid management, transmission reinforcement and flexibility services are identified as areas attracting attention for the next investment cycle.
Romania targets 38.3% renewable energy in final energy consumption by 2030. Projects such as Scornicești are described as supporting grid stability while enabling additional wind and solar connections without proportionally increasing curtailment risks.
