Alpiq acquired the project in Valkeakoski from Merus Power, which also does early-stage development work, and the latter will now provide the BESS hardware along with long-term operation and maintenance (O&M) services. Merus may also provide its trading platform in future too.
The project is scheduled to come online in summer 2025 and amounts to an investment of around €20 million (US$23.6 million). It will primarily participate in Finland’s frequency reserve markets and will be one of the largest BESS in the country.
Jones, Lang & LaSalle (JLL) is advising Merus Power on the project.
Alpiq operates legacy plants as well as renewables in Switzerland, and is the largest shareholder (with 39%) in a 20GWh pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) plant that came online there in 2022. It is also optimising the largest BESS in Switzerland, which was recently expanded from 20MW to 28MW.
Capalo AI to optimise Merus-provided BESS for owner eNordic
In related news, Capalo AI has been enlisted by eNordic to optimise the energy market activity for a 38.5MW/38MWh BESS in Lappeenranta, southeast Finland – eNordic is the local investment manager for global private equity firm Ardian.
Merus Power is also the company providing the BESS hardware for that project, as reported by Energy-Storage.news in February this year. That is scheduled to come online in Spring 2025. Energy-Storage.news interviewed Merus and eNordic about the project whilst at Solar Media’s Energy Storage Summit EU 2024 in London in February (Premium access).
Capalo AI will use its Zeus VPP platform to optimise the BESS project’s charge and discharge in Finland’s ancillary services markets – FFR, FCR- D, FCR-N, aFRR, mFRR – and the Nord Pool wholesale markets, namely the Spot and Intraday.
In written comments to Energy-Storage.news, company CEO Henri Taskinen said that the Finland and Swedish markets remain merchant-based. Toll deals (like a large one seen in the UK recently) are being discussed but not many players are committing to it yet. aFRR, mFRR, and Intraday will be safeguards against the saturation of FCR, he added.