The two new sites are a combined 68.2MWp of solar photovoltaics and 140.5MWh of battery storage. Acail is 28.3MWp of solar and 60.2MWh of storage.

Felgueiras is 39.9MWp of solar and 80.3MWh of storage. The company states that these are the first hybrid installations with battery storage to be connected to the Portuguese national distribution grid.

Installed at the same physical sites as the solar plants, approximately 7 months after the announcement of the financing of the plants, the batteries enable the storage of the electricity generated and this can then be fed into the grid when there is lower levels of renewable generation or higher demand.

The systems can also take power directly from the grid. The commissioning of the plants is in line with the Portuguese government's announcement of two grid connection auctions totalling 1,050MVA, 750MVA for standalone storage systems and 300MVA for renewable energy projects with battery storage.

With regard to the new facilities, Paulo Pimentel (Director of Sonnedix Portugal) points to the fact that they are an example of the evolution of the company's portfolio in the direction of solutions which are designed to "offer greater flexibility to the system and facilitate a more efficient integration of renewable energy".

Gregorio Morales, Group Commercial Director, adds that "by combining solar generation with batteries we are turning renewable energy into a more flexible, more predictable product which is better suited to our customers' needs" and that these two projects are the starting point of a global strategy to combine generation with storage.

Sonnedix, with operations in Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Poland, the UK and Chile, has a global portfolio of around 12GW, of which 5GW is operational, over 1GW under construction and more than 5GW in development.

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