IN Brief:
- Onde will build R.Power’s 300MW/1,200MWh Dzięgielewo BESS, while Esix will deliver the 250MW/1,000MWh Gdańsk project.
- Both four-hour installations are scheduled to enter operation in late 2027 or early 2028.
- The awards take R.Power’s Central and Eastern European storage portfolio under construction beyond 800MW and 2,750MWh.
R.Power has signed engineering, procurement, and construction contracts for two Polish battery energy storage projects with a combined capacity of 550MW and 2,200MWh.
Polish contractor Onde will deliver the 300MW/1,200MWh Dzięgielewo installation in the Mazovia region, while Wrocław-based energy infrastructure company Esix will build the 250MW/1,000MWh Gdańsk project. Commercial operation is scheduled for late 2027 or early 2028.
Both assets have four-hour storage durations and hold Polish capacity-market contracts with delivery obligations beginning in 2029. State grants and green-bond financing are also supporting the programme.
At Dzięgielewo, a long-term optimisation agreement between R.Power and Axpo covers market participation, revenue sharing, and a minimum revenue arrangement. The EPC contract now adds the physical delivery package required to place the asset into operation.
Once the two projects enter construction, R.Power’s battery portfolio under delivery across Central and Eastern Europe will exceed 800MW and 2,750MWh. The installations are substantially larger and longer-duration than the company’s first utility-scale batteries at Jedwabno in Poland and Scornicești in Romania.
Although the contractors will lead engineering and construction, both projects will require extensive coordination with battery suppliers, network operators, equipment manufacturers, civil contractors, fire authorities, and market-service providers. Battery enclosures, power conversion systems, transformers, switchgear, protection, metering, communications, drainage, access, and control platforms must be commissioned as one installation.
Four-hour storage enters the construction market
Poland’s storage sector is moving beyond development rights and capacity-market awards into physical delivery, where connection schedules, equipment procurement, construction quality, and performance testing determine whether contracted capacity becomes available on time.
Four-hour systems can shift substantially more energy across the day than the one- and two-hour batteries that dominated early European frequency-response markets. Greater duration creates room for wholesale arbitrage, renewable output shifting, capacity provision, and sustained response during periods of system stress.
That additional capability requires more cells, larger foundations, longer cable routes, greater cooling capacity, and more capital for each megawatt connected. Energy capacity also increases the volume of equipment that must be monitored, maintained, and potentially augmented as degradation reduces usable storage over time.
Poland is adding wind and solar while retaining a large thermal generation fleet and managing the gradual transition away from coal. Fast-response batteries can support frequency control and balancing, while four-hour storage can move larger blocks of electricity from periods of surplus generation into higher-demand periods.
No single revenue stream is likely to carry the complete investment case. Capacity payments provide long-term income, but wholesale trading, balancing markets, and ancillary services will influence day-to-day operation. The commercial strategy must preserve sufficient state of charge for contracted events without leaving the battery idle when other opportunities arise.
Connection agreements will define the practical limits of both assets. Headline power and energy ratings do not show maximum import, maximum export, reactive-power capability, fault-ride-through requirements, or whether several services may be delivered simultaneously.
Grid-code models, protection studies, metering arrangements, and dispatch interfaces should therefore be aligned with the intended market strategy before commissioning begins. A technically complete battery can still lose revenue when its operating permissions or control systems do not support the services assumed in the financial model.
Operational discipline will remain necessary throughout the asset life. Thermal management, cell balancing, auxiliary consumption, state-of-charge forecasting, warranty limits, fire detection, and emergency procedures all influence availability and long-term economics.
Domestic EPC involvement may shorten interfaces with local planning, civil works, network coordination, and site logistics, although the projects remain exposed to global battery and power-electronics supply chains. Cell manufacturing, inverters, control hardware, cooling systems, and specialist replacement parts will need dependable support over operating lives measured in decades.
As the Polish market expands, competition will shift towards reliable delivery and verified performance. Developers that hold connection rights or capacity contracts still need to complete energisation, qualification, and sustained operation before those positions create dependable system value.
Dzięgielewo and Gdańsk will now progress through equipment selection, site mobilisation, grid works, staged testing, and market registration. Their delivery will establish how effectively Poland’s emerging storage framework converts long-term capacity commitments into operating four-hour assets.
Further information on the company’s generation and storage portfolio is available from R.Power.
