Lithuania is accelerating its clean-power agenda with a €130 million order for battery energy storage systems (BESS) from Rolls-Royce Power Systems, marking the manufacturer’s largest single storage contract to date.
The mtu EnergyPack units — totaling 291 MW/582 MWh across three sites — are scheduled to come online in 2027, underscoring the Baltic state’s push to secure grid reliability as renewables scale.
The storage portfolio will span the Kelmė and Mažeikiai wind farms and the Kruonis pumped-storage plant, assets central to Lithuania’s power mix. By absorbing surplus electricity from variable wind output and releasing it during peak demand, the BESS fleet is designed to reduce curtailment and smooth intraday price swings.
At the core of the deployment is Rolls-Royce’s mtu EnergetIQ Manager, an integrated control platform that coordinates the three battery parks alongside their associated generation assets. The software is engineered for millisecond response to grid signals, enabling fast frequency support, black-start functions, and voltage stabilization — capabilities increasingly valued in systems with high shares of intermittent supply.
The investment aligns with Lithuania’s 2030 target for 100 percent clean electricity and its ongoing exit from the Russian BRELL network. With wind and solar additions expected to lift renewables above 70 percent of generation by the end of the decade, grid operators face a steep ramp in balancing requirements. Large-scale batteries, coupled with legacy hydro storage at Kruonis, are becoming pillars of a hybrid flexibility stack.
According to data from the Lithuanian transmission operator Litgrid, peak-load reserves and frequency containment demand are set to rise sharply as synchronous inertia declines. Without storage, renewable curtailment and balancing costs could erode the economic case for new capacity. The 582 MWh contracted to Rolls-Royce represents an early move to hedge that risk, though it covers only part of the flexibility volumes analysts project by 2030.
For Rolls-Royce Power Systems, the order pushes its mtu EnergyPack portfolio beyond 200 projects delivered worldwide, strengthening its foothold in utility-scale storage. The modular design supports two- to four-hour discharge durations, aligning with wind ramping profiles common in the Baltic Sea region.
Ignitis Group CEO Darius Maikštėnas framed storage as indispensable for “network flexibility and cost stability.” The systems are expected to reinforce Lithuania’s autonomy as it strengthens ties to Continental Europe’s grid via the Harmony Link and LitPol interconnectors. By diversifying flexibility resources, the country aims to shield consumers from volatility in imported electricity and accelerate the retirement of fossil-based reserves.
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