Polish power group PGE said on October 23 that its renewables subsidiary PGE EO had begun building one of the biggest energy storage facilities in Poland and in Europe, a 400MW/800MWh unit in Nowy Czarnów. The facility, ME Gryfino, is due to become operational at the end of 2028.

“The construction of the energy storage facility in Gryfino is a prime example of our new strategy in practice. By investing over PLN1.14bn (€255mn) in Western Pomerania - a region of strategic importance to the national energy sector - we are entrusting the implementation of this project to a consortium of Polish companies,” PGE’s CEO Dariusz Lubera said in a press release.

“By meeting our target of a 65% local content share, we are demonstrating that Gryfino’s modern transformation and the country’s energy security can go hand in hand with the stable development of Polish enterprises,” he added.

A consortium of Polish companies, Spec Bau Polska and EL Professional, is responsible for the construction, while Fluence is the technology supplier.

Under PGE’s PLN210bn (€48bn) investment programme, announced on October 20, around PLN80bn will be allocated to the development of offshore and onshore wind power and energy storage facilities until 2035.