Enel Green Power has inaugurated the BESS4HYDRO project at the Dossi hydropower plant in Valbondione, Italy, integrating battery energy storage with a programmable reservoir-based hydroelectric facility.
The project, inaugurated on 6 July, combines the existing 44MW Dossi plant with a 4MW lithium-ion battery providing two hours of storage. The two systems share the same grid connection point and are configured to operate as a single entity in the electricity market.
The Dossi plant has an annual generation capacity of 144GWh.
Under the project’s control system, the battery responds to rapid changes in load, while the hydropower plant manages generation over longer periods. Enel said the arrangement can improve the use of available water resources and provide greater operational flexibility. The battery can also operate independently of the hydropower unit.
According to Enel, the hybrid system is expected to increase the volume of grid services provided by more than 30%, while supporting reservoir management and reducing water losses. The company also said the system could help reduce wear on the plant’s turbines by allowing the battery to handle faster fluctuations in demand.
The project makes use of the plant’s existing grid connection, avoiding the need for additional connection infrastructure.
BESS4HYDRO has received funding from the European Commission’s Innovation Fund and has been awarded the Strategic Technologies for Europe Platform (STEP) seal. The project has also been identified by the World Economic Forum as one of 100 examples with potential for replication.
Enel said the approach could be applied to similar reservoir hydropower plants, including sites in Italy and Spain. Results from the Dossi project will be used to assess the potential for extending the hybrid hydro and battery model to other facilities.
