IN Brief:
- Aksa Energy has commissioned Turkey’s first standalone battery energy storage system.
- The Şanlıurfa facility has completed primary frequency control testing and entered the ancillary services market.
- The 50MW/61.9MWh RASA project adds fast-response flexibility to Turkey’s power system.
Aksa Energy has commissioned Turkey’s first standalone battery energy storage system and entered the ancillary services market after completing primary frequency control testing.
Located in Şanlıurfa, the facility operates under the RASA project with 50MW of power output and 61.9MWh of storage capacity. Aksa BESS, an affiliate of Aksa Energy, developed the project, with Aksa Power Generation and EVE Energy involved in the wider delivery structure.
Primary frequency control is among the fastest stability services required by a power system. It responds to deviations in system frequency and helps maintain operation around nominal frequency after sudden supply-demand imbalances. Battery systems can perform that role effectively because they respond rapidly under automated control and can change output far faster than most thermal generation units.
The performance of a grid-scale battery in frequency control depends on more than cell capacity. Inverter capability, control accuracy, state-of-charge management, communications, metering, grid-code compliance, and market settlement rules all shape the value that a storage asset can provide.
Turkey’s electricity system is still shaped by a broad generation mix, including conventional power, hydro resources, wind, solar, and growing demand. As renewable penetration increases, the system requires more flexible assets capable of responding to weather-driven variability, demand swings, and local network conditions.
The Şanlıurfa project places standalone storage into live system operation rather than treating it as an adjunct to generation. That distinction is important for market design. A standalone battery needs revenue routes that recognise its contribution to frequency control, balancing, capacity support, congestion management, and wholesale price response.
Across Europe and neighbouring markets, battery storage is developing in layers. Shorter-duration systems are being used for fast frequency response and balancing services, while longer-duration assets are being assessed for renewable shifting, capacity adequacy, and constraint management. Pumped storage, flow batteries, lithium-ion systems, and hybrid renewable projects each occupy different parts of that flexibility landscape.
Turkey’s regional position adds another dimension. Its electricity system sits between European, Balkan, Caucasus, and Middle Eastern markets, with domestic demand growth and industrial activity placing further pressure on system resilience. Storage deployment will be influenced by grid connection policy, ancillary-service procurement, interconnection, and the speed at which renewable capacity is added.
For system operators, a fast-response standalone battery adds controllable capability that can be dispatched without changing the operating profile of a generation unit. For developers, the RASA project provides an early reference point for how storage can participate in Turkey’s ancillary services market.
Revenue certainty remains central to wider deployment. Ancillary service income, wholesale arbitrage, capacity mechanisms, grid-support contracts, and hybrid project structures all influence investment decisions. Turkey’s first standalone BESS does not settle those commercial questions, but it moves the technology from licensing and development into operational service.
The next phase will be defined by repeatability. More projects will need to secure grid connections, financing, equipment supply, and market access if storage is to become a regular feature of Turkey’s power-system operation rather than a first-of-kind deployment.
