The government of Kosovo this week announced it will build a battery energy storage system (BESS) with a capacity of 200MWh-plus to deal with the country’s energy crisis.

The country’s economy minister Artane Rizvanolli tweeted that the government has approved a program that will make use of a US$234 million grant to build the BESS and increase women’s inclusion in the energy sector.

The grant is being provided by the United States through the Millennium Challenge Corp, a foreign aid agency established in 2004.

The money was initially going to be used to build a new gas pipeline from Kosovo to neighbouring North Macedonia but recent high gas prices have made that uneconomical, the government said. Reports say some of it will go to smaller energy projects too.

Rizvanolli has been quoted by local media as saying the BESS power would be at least 150MW with an energy capacity of 200MWh. Reports add that it will help stabilise the fluctuating frequency of electricity, shift load and help the integration of renewable generation assets in the grid like solar and wind.

Kosovo faced an energy crisis in the most recent winter due to low domestic production and high import and had to shed load. Some 85% of its energy is produced from coal but it has recently added some renewable generation sources.