The Hungarian government has set aside HUF 62 billion ($169 million) for network-scale energy storage projects in an effort to facilitate the further deployment of renewable energy sources.
The Hungarian Ministry of Energy has announced that around 50 grid-scale energy storage projects with a cumulative capacity of 440 MW have received subsidies through a tender launched in February this year.
The tender is part of a broader HUF 200 billion subsidy program launched in an effort to support households and businesses in producing and storing green energy.
Last Thursday, the government said it has selected the winning bidders and allocated HUF 62 billion for their energy storage projects.
The selected companies and organizations must complete the installation of projects by the end of April 2026.
“With the successful implementation of the program, domestic energy storage capacity can increase by approximately 20 times within two years,” the ministry said in the announcement.
The subsidies are secured through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan and the state budget. They consist of non-refundable investment aid and income compensation for the construction of energy storage facilities and their operation for at least ten years.
Operational support will be provided through mutual contracts for difference. The winners were selected based on the lowest cost principle and the lowest income compensation claim, the ministry said.
With funds obtained through a previous program, transmission system operator MAVIR is already building the country’s largest energy storage system – a 20 MW project in Szolnok, central Hungary, the ministry said. It added that several projects with even greater capacity will be installed under the tender finalized a few days ago.
Hungary’s renewable energy fleet is heavily dominated by solar energy, accounting for more than 85%, followed by wind energy, which accounts for less than 6% of the total installed capacity.
The country had a record year for new solar energy in 2023, with an increase of 1.6 GW. Preliminary figures from MAVIR show that total solar capacity is equivalent to 3.3 GW of industrial solar power plants and 2.3 GW of domestic installations.
In 2024, the Hungarian government will continue to support the growth of residential PV through its recently launched Napenergia Plusz program, a subsidy scheme for the installation of modern solar panels and storage systems with a total budget of HUF 75.8 billion. The scheme is expected to support more than 15,000 households.
Hungary has set a target of 12 GW of solar capacity by the beginning of the next decade. However, shortages in grid capacity are acute, which in particular hinders the rollout of large-scale solar energy.
The country’s revised National Energy and Climate Plan envisages the construction of a total of 1 GW of storage capacity by 2030. The Ministry of Energy is encouraging the expansion of the energy storage market with legislative and financial instruments, namely various allowances and tax credits.
The rollout of battery storage is expected to be supplemented with some pumped hydro capacity. Geological survey drilling for a feasibility study of the first such project in the country is already underway.
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