IN Brief:
- Signet Bank has agreed a loan of just over €3m towards the approximately €6.1m SW Power battery development in Riga.
- The planned plant combines a 14.99MW grid connection with approximately 30MWh of liquid-cooled lithium iron phosphate storage.
- The building permit and notice to proceed remain outstanding, with commercial operation targeted for the second quarter of 2027.
Byhmgard has signed a loan agreement with Signet Bank for slightly more than €3m towards its SW Power battery project in Riga. The planned Latvian installation has a 14.99MW grid connection and approximately 30MWh of storage, with total investment estimated at €6.1m. Announced on 9 November, the loan covers roughly half the project budget. A building permit and formal construction notice were still outstanding when the financing was agreed.
The remaining financing is intended to come largely through Byhmgard Invest AB, the subsidiary which owns the project company SW Power SIA. Battery systems are expected to be acquired under a payment arrangement and contributed to the project company. Byhmgard says this structure is supported by a separate funding agreement announced in March. The two sources of capital are intended to cover the total project budget, but the developer has not described the plant as commissioned or generating income.
The design provides about two hours of nominal energy capacity at the 14.99MW connection rating, using modular, liquid-cooled lithium iron phosphate batteries. Power in megawatts describes the rate of electrical transfer; energy in megawatt-hours describes the quantity that can be supplied over time. Actual continuous discharge will depend on usable capacity, the inverter and transformer limits, battery management settings and reserve requirements. The connection agreement secures an electrical route to the network but is not evidence that equipment has been energised.
Liquid cooling is intended to regulate cell temperatures during charging, discharge and standby operation. Temperature management affects degradation, available power and safety, while the power conversion system determines how a direct-current battery exchanges alternating-current electricity with the grid. The developer has not identified SW Power’s inverter manufacturer, guaranteed efficiency or exact usable energy rating. Nor has it claimed a completed battery installation; those specifications and milestones remain important to interpreting the announced capacity.
Byhmgard selected Latvijas Energoceltnieks (LEC) in October for fixed-price turnkey construction of its two Riga battery projects. The contractor’s scope includes electrical design, civil infrastructure, connection and commissioning, but the SW Power construction start depends on a notice to proceed. Byhmgard expected the relevant building permit to be registered in mid-November, after which it could authorise the main work. The October appointment established a delivery arrangement, whereas November’s Signet agreement adds a financing component.
The company says it has already obtained land rights and an environmental decision and has entered into a grid connection agreement. Those milestones reduce particular development uncertainties, but they do not replace the construction authorisation or the outstanding notice to proceed. Byhmgard has indicated that the contractor’s work represents approximately €0.6m of the investment budget once released. Battery equipment deliveries are expected in spring 2027, followed by a planned commercial operation date in the second quarter.
Long-term operation is assigned to Alstra Energy under an agreement covering monitoring and maintenance after commissioning. The October contract envisages continuous remote supervision from the operator’s Hultsfred control centre, rather than suggesting the site is already providing reserve capacity. Response to equipment alarms, availability of inverters and communications links, and planned maintenance will be relevant once the facility participates in electricity markets. Acceptance testing and any market prequalification must precede claims about services actually delivered.
SW Power is planned as a merchant installation, with access sought to Nord Pool’s day-ahead and intraday electricity markets alongside frequency reserve services procured by the Latvian transmission operator. Trading revenue would depend on the spread between charging and discharge prices after losses, fees and degradation costs. Reserve products place different requirements on response time, available power and state of charge. Byhmgard’s stated commercial strategy does not yet establish award of an ancillary-service contract or an agreed annual revenue stream.
The company has published long-term financial scenarios, but their prospective revenue and market-price assumptions cannot be treated as contracted receipts. Lenders and owners must still manage construction expenditure before any electricity sales begin. Byhmgard says the agreed debt and funding through Byhmgard Invest are intended to cover its approximately €6.1m project cost; it has not disclosed a final repayment schedule in the short 9 November account. Project-level cash flows will depend on successful completion and market eligibility.
Latvia is developing battery flexibility against the background of the Baltic countries’ February 2025 synchronisation with the continental European power system. The change has increased the importance of local reserve procurement and the technical performance of assets that can respond to frequency deviations. Actual revenue opportunities remain sensitive to market participation rules, network constraints and the number of competing projects entering service; a secured grid connection alone does not determine either dispatch volumes or prices.
SW Power’s next sequence is to secure the building permit, issue the contractor’s notice to proceed, construct the grid interface and battery foundations, and receive the storage systems expected in spring 2027. Grid testing and commissioning would then have to support the targeted second-quarter operating date. Neither the loan signing nor the earlier EPC appointment means the 14.99MW installation is available to Latvia’s electricity system today. The decisive delivery milestones remain physical construction, energisation and market qualification.
