OMV Petrom advances Gabare solar and storage project

OMV Petrom has taken final investment decision on the Gabare solar and battery storage project in Bulgaria, moving one of the country’s largest integrated solar-plus-storage developments into the ready-to-build phase.

Located in the Byala Slatina region, the project will combine a photovoltaic plant of around 415MWp with a battery energy storage system capable of storing approximately 600MWh. Total investment is estimated at about €300m, including around €100m for the storage element.

Gabare will be developed through Dunav Solar Plant OOD, a company owned equally by OMV Petrom and Enery. The project already has the required permits, with construction due to begin after the construction contract is signed and first production expected in 2028.

The structure includes a power purchase arrangement under which OMV Petrom will acquire 50% of the future output from the solar park. That gives the company direct access to renewable generation while embedding the battery system into the project’s operating model from the start.

Hybrid solar and storage projects are becoming more prominent across Southeast Europe as renewable capacity expands ahead of system flexibility. Solar generation can now be deployed at substantial scale, but project value increasingly depends on when electricity is exported, how peaks are managed, and whether assets can operate through periods of price volatility or network congestion.

The 600MWh storage element gives Gabare a broader role than a conventional solar farm. It can absorb output during high-generation periods, support discharge into evening demand, reduce curtailment exposure, and provide a platform for flexibility services where market rules allow.

Large integrated energy companies are also entering storage through generation-linked assets rather than standalone battery portfolios alone. OMV Petrom remains active across conventional energy, refining, retail, and gas-fired generation, but Gabare places battery storage inside a wider regional power strategy.

Bulgaria is becoming a more active market for grid-scale storage, with major projects moving from announcements into construction and operation. Alongside Gabare, the country now has operating and investment-stage battery assets that can build experience in interconnection, protection, dispatch, balancing market access, and control-room operation.

The development follows a wider Central and Eastern European trend in which large battery systems are being connected to support renewable integration and system flexibility. These projects are beginning to create a regional evidence base for how storage performs across different grid conditions, market structures, and connection regimes.

For power systems with growing solar volumes, the central task is no longer only the addition of renewable capacity. Variable output must be absorbed without creating avoidable curtailment, unstable price signals, or reinforcement delays. Batteries do not remove the need for grid expansion, but they can improve utilisation of connection capacity and make renewable output more controllable.

Gabare’s technical delivery will require coordinated design across DC and AC interfaces, transformers, switchgear, protection, grid connection, fire safety, communications, and control systems. A battery of this size is a power asset in its own right, with operating requirements that extend beyond simple co-location with generation.

As more hybrid projects move into construction, Southeast Europe’s next power-system phase will be shaped by build quality, connection readiness, and dispatch capability. Gabare adds a major Bulgarian project to that pipeline and reinforces the direction of travel: renewable generation is increasingly being paired with storage from the outset, rather than retrofitted after grid constraints emerge.