Bulgaria will finance 82 standalone renewable energy storage projects worth over 1.15 billion levs ($675 million) under its EU-funded procurement exercise named RESTORE.

The selected projects will deliver a total usable energy storage capacity of 9,712.89 MWh, the Ministry of Energy said on April 17, more than three times the minimum target of 3 GWh originally set by the tender.

The deadline for submission of project proposals was December 5, 2024. The Bulgarian Ministry of Energy announced on December 6 that it has received 151 project proposals worth nearly BGN 5 billion, which far exceeded the available funding of BGN 1.154 billion.

Of the submitted proposals, 118 projects—totaling BGN 1.6 billion—were shortlisted. Additionally, 30 reserve projects, for which current funding is not available, were identified, representing an additional BGN 415 million in proposed investment.

The public call was open for projects equal to or greater than 10 MW with at least two hours of storage capacity, which will be primarily used in the frequency regulation markets. There was no minimum amount of financing per proposal, while the maximum grant was capped at BGN 148,643,080.

The grants will cover up to 50% of the eligible costs with a ceiling of BGN 371,607.70 (without VAT) per 1 MWh of usable energy capacity, according to the procedure’s guidelines.

All investments must be implemented and the facilities connected to the electricity transmission or distribution networks on the territory of Bulgaria and put into operation by March 2026.

The RESTORE tender is funded under Bulgaria’s National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), which aims to significantly increase the share of energy from renewable sources in the nation’s energy mix, while simultaneously building the necessary infrastructure for its storage.