Montenegro’s 2025 battery storage tender for 60 MW / 240 MWh highlights why bids should be assessed on lifetime energy delivery, grid compliance and enforceable warranty performance, not just the initial EPC price. Lenders finance usable energy, availability and market compliance rather than the number of battery containers.
EPCG material put the cost of Montenegro’s original procurement at around 48 million euros. Reported costs range from around 48 million euros to 58.8 million euros, depending on the project stage. Those figures are not directly comparable without accounting for differences in scope and what each cost includes.
Other regional projects offer context but do not provide a like-for-like price comparison. HELLENiQ ENERGY’s project in Thessaloniki has 100 MW / 200 MWh of capacity and represents an investment of about 50 million euros. Bulgaria’s Tenevo expansion is for 246 MW / 512.5 MWh and is backed by a 60 million euro financing package. The projects differ in scope, connection works, warranties and co-located infrastructure.
Tenders should compare guaranteed usable MWh at commissioning and throughout the warranty period, as well as round-trip efficiency, auxiliary load, degradation and augmentation obligations. Assessments should also cover power conversion system capability, grid-code functions, fire protection, energy management system integration and spare-parts support. Headline euros per kWh or initial capital expenditure alone cannot provide a consistent basis for ranking bids.
A lower-priced bid that retains less capacity can have a higher lifetime cost per discharged MWh. Delayed commissioning may also cause a project to miss a subsidy deadline, a grid reservation or the strongest early-market revenue window. Vendor financial strength matters because warranty value depends on the counterparty remaining solvent and able to honour its commitments.
For lenders, the preferred EPC package is not necessarily the cheapest one. It is the package that reduces uncertainty around lifetime cash generation and gives the project company enforceable remedies for underperformance, alongside demonstrated usable energy and grid compliance.
