The deal has been agreed for Giga’s 300MW/1,200MWh Leopard project in Vlissingen, northern Netherlands, on which construction should start this year, as told to Energy-Storage.news by the firm’s CCO Lars Rupert in June. The time limited contract becomes active on 1 October, 2025, although Giga has previously said Leopard would come online in 2026.
The new contract type was brought in as part of the Landelijk Actieprogramma Netcongestie (National Action Programme for Grid Congestion) reforms, and aims to ease grid congestion in the Netherlands while allowing new projects to be built.
Netherlands Minister of Climate and Green Growth Sophie Hermans commented on the announcement: “We are all working very hard to expand the power grid faster, and we also need to use the grid smarter. Thanks to this new type of contract and good cooperation, it will be possible to make the best use of the space left on the grid outside ‘peak hours’. And moreover, to deploy renewable electricity when there is less sun and wind. I hope this is a breakthrough and other companies that can do so will also consider a flexible contract.’
In return for limiting when the BESS interacts with the grid, Giga Storage’s project will get a 65% discount on transmission tariffs. Energy-Storage.news interviewed research firm Aurora about the new contract recently, with analyst Jesse Hettema saying the economics of it should pencil out, and subsequently boost the grid-scale BESS market (Premium access).
However, the commercial director for Giga Storage’s peer SemperPower, which owns the two largest operational projects in the Netherlands today, was more sceptical about the time-limited contracts when asked about them. The contracts can be used by any large user of electricity, including commercial and industrial (C&I) locations that can flexibilise their power consumption.
The Dutch market appears to have turned a corner in the last year with several large-scale projects announced, alongside Giga’s Leopard, including a 640MWh BESS being developed by SemperPower in partnership with developer Corre Energy and a 1.5GWh one from Lion Storage receiving a construction permit.