BESS (Battery) Systems in Macedonia

The rapid growth of electricity generation from solar and wind has raised a new question for the electricity system: how can the electricity produced be used when it is needed most, rather than only when weather conditions allow it to be generated?

This is precisely where BESS systems are becoming increasingly important.

BESS (Battery Energy Storage System) is a battery-based system for storing electricity, allowing electricity to be taken from a power plant or from the grid, stored, and subsequently released when this is technically or economically justified.

For investors in Macedonia, BESS is no longer merely a technical add-on to a solar or wind power plant. The new Energy Law recognizes electricity storage as a separate activity, provides for several models of BESS projects and, for certain power plants using variable renewable energy sources, also introduces an obligation to install storage.

Market interest is also significant. The Annual Plan for the Construction of Energy Facilities for 2026 includes 96 storage systems, of which 77 are integrated into existing or new power plants and 19 are standalone systems. Their total planned power amounts to approximately 2,027 MW, with storage capacity of approximately 4,961 MWh and an estimated investment value of around EUR 1.98 billion. These figures relate to projects included in the Plan and do not mean that all of them have already been constructed or will necessarily be implemented.

What is BESS and why is it important?

Two basic parameters should be distinguished in BESS projects:

MW (megawatt) indicates power – in other words, how much electricity the system can take in or deliver at a given moment.

MWh (megawatt-hour) indicates capacity – in other words, how much electricity the system can store.

For example, a BESS with a power rating of 10 MW and a capacity of 20 MWh can, in a simplified example, operate for approximately two hours at its maximum power of 10 MW.

This distinction is essential from both a legal and commercial perspective. The MW/MWh ratio affects the technical conditions, grid connection, agreements with the battery manufacturer, performance guarantees and potential revenue streams.

BESS can be used for several purposes: storing electricity generated by solar or wind power plants, optimizing the timing of electricity sales, providing system and balancing services, reducing production curtailment, and managing consumption for industrial users.

However, each of these models has a different legal and contractual structure.

What is the legal framework for BESS in North Macedonia?

The principal legislation is the Energy Law, published in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of North Macedonia” No. 101/2025, which has applied since 29 May 2025. The Law was amended in 2025 and again in July 2026, with the latest amendments published in the “Official Gazette of the Republic of North Macedonia” No. 172/2026.

Since July 2026, there has also been a separate Law on the Use of Energy from Renewable Sources, operating as lex specialis for a range of matters related to renewable energy. Nevertheless, the basic legal regime governing electricity storage remains regulated by the Energy Law.

Depending on the specific project, rules concerning construction and spatial planning, connection to the electricity system, licensing, environmental protection, fire safety, batteries and accumulators, and waste management may also be relevant.

Therefore, a BESS project should not be analyzed merely as the “purchase of a battery”. The legal structure begins much earlier – with the choice of project model, location and grid connection.

Four storage models under the Energy Law

Article 130 of the Energy Law draws an important distinction between the different ways in which electricity storage may be carried out.

The Law provides for:

1. standalone storage, operated by a storage operator and not forming part of a producer’s power plant or a consumer’s facility;
2. storage forming an integral part of a power plant with an installed capacity of at least 1 MW, for which the authorization regime for construction is relevant;
3. storage forming an integral part of a power plant with a capacity below 1 MW, for which the Law does not require a separate construction authorization for the storage facility or the power plant; and
4. storage as a fully integrated network component of the transmission or distribution system, subject to specific statutory conditions.

This distinction is important because a standalone BESS project and a BESS integrated into a photovoltaic power plant do not necessarily follow the same regulatory and licensing procedure.

The Law further provides that a storage facility forming an integral part of a power plant and having an installed capacity of up to 40% of the installed capacity of that power plant is considered an integrated storage system. Such a system may store electricity generated by its own generation units, but may also store electricity taken from the grid and subsequently deliver it back to the grid, within the maximum approved simultaneous connection capacity.

This is particularly significant for the project’s business model: an integrated BESS does not necessarily have to be limited solely to “storing” its own solar generation.

Is BESS mandatory for solar and wind power plants?

This is one of the most important issues under the current legal framework.

Under the original wording of the Energy Law adopted in 2025, Article 87 paragraph 15 provided that power plants using a variable renewable energy source should have storage with an installed capacity equal to 20% of the installed capacity of the power plant. The same provision required the storage capacity to enable a charge and discharge cycle of at least two hours at the maximum installed capacity of the storage system.

However, following the amendment to the Law adopted in July 2026, the fixed 20% requirement was replaced with a range of at least 20% and no more than 40% of the installed capacity of the power plant. The amendment does not remove the existing two-hour criterion.

In practical terms, if we take a photovoltaic power plant of 10 MW as a simplified example, the statutory range for BESS power would be between 2 MW and 4 MW. At the minimum level of 2 MW, the requirement for at least two hours would imply at least 4 MWh of storage capacity; at 4 MW, this would amount to 8 MWh.

However, the 2026 provision should be applied carefully. It establishes a statutory range of 20% to 40%, but the specific sizing of a project should be assessed together with the Annual Plan, grid and market analyses, connection conditions and acts applicable to the specific investment. The existence of this range should not automatically be interpreted as giving the investor an unrestricted right to unilaterally choose any percentage within it.

The July 2026 amendments also introduced an exception: this obligation does not apply to a power plant or generation facility whose construction is financed from the Budget of the Republic of North Macedonia or from a loan guaranteed by the state.

The Annual Plan becomes an important part of project development

The new energy regime links the development of larger energy facilities to the Annual Plan for the Construction of Energy Facilities.

In preparing the Plan, the Ministry, MEPSO and the electricity distribution system operator consider, among other matters, the possibilities for connection, the need for system reserves, required investments in the grid, and grid and market analyses.

For this reason, having suitable land and a technical offer for the batteries is not sufficient for an investor. Grid capacity and the project’s status within the relevant planning and regulatory procedures may be decisive for whether the project can be implemented.

The Annual Plan for 2026 illustrates the scale of interest well: in addition to 77 integrated storage systems, it includes 19 standalone systems with a total power of 637.518 MW and capacity of 1,494.746 MWh.

What does the regulatory pathway for a BESS project look like?

There is no single universal list of permits applicable to every BESS project.

The procedure depends, among other things, on:

• whether the BESS is standalone or integrated into a power plant;
• its installed capacity;
• whether a new facility is being constructed or BESS is being added to an existing power plant;
• ownership and legal status of the land;
• the method and voltage level of connection;
• whether the project requires a construction permit or may be implemented on the basis of another act provided for under construction legislation;
• whether authorization from the Ministry is required;
• and what licensing and market status the operator will have.

In practical terms, project development will generally need to coordinate the following workstreams:

project and corporate structure → land and planning documentation → status under the Annual Plan → grid connection → construction documentation → authorization, where required → technical commissioning → licensing → market and balancing agreements.

The sequence is not always entirely linear. Certain procedures overlap, while the outcome of one – particularly the grid connection process – may affect the technical and economic structure of the others.

Where BESS is added to an existing power plant, it should also be assessed whether existing approvals, the licence, grid connection decision and contractual arrangements need to be amended.

Licence: standalone BESS and integrated BESS are not the same

Standalone storage carried out by a storage operator is recognized as an energy activity under the Energy Law. An integrated BESS, on the other hand, may form part of the licensing regime applicable to the power plant itself, depending on the project structure.

The practice of the Energy Regulatory Commission already shows examples where an existing electricity generation licence has been amended following the integration of a storage system into a power plant. This is a useful indication that licensing should be analyzed during the project structuring phase rather than only after the batteries have been installed.

For every project, the relevant energy activity, required authorizations and the content of, or amendments to, the licence should be assessed separately.

Grid connection may be more important than the battery itself

From an investment perspective, one of the main values of BESS lies in its ability to take in and deliver electricity at different times.

However, BESS does not automatically create a new right to unlimited export to the grid.

The Law expressly provides that an integrated system may take electricity from the grid and subsequently return it to the grid in accordance with the maximum approved simultaneous connection capacity. In the case of a power plant with integrated BESS, the total power delivered to the system must also not exceed the maximum power specified in the grid connection decision.

Therefore, before purchasing BESS equipment, at least the following should be analyzed:

• the existing or planned grid connection;
• the maximum permitted import/export capacity;
• any restrictions relating to operating modes;
• required metering, telemetry and remote control;
• conditions for participation in the market and balancing mechanism.

A poorly sized BESS may be technically excellent but economically constrained if the connection rights do not allow its full utilization.

Where can BESS revenue come from?

The Law allows a storage operator to participate in electricity markets, including buying and selling electricity, providing storage services and offering system services to transmission and distribution system operators.

Where the maximum simultaneous power that the storage facility can deliver to the grid is at least 1 MW, the Law also provides for the possibility of entering into an agreement with the transmission system operator for participation in the balancing mechanism.

Depending on the technical and market model, potential sources of value may include:

• purchasing and storing electricity during periods of lower prices and selling it at other times;
• optimizing electricity sales from photovoltaic or wind power plants;
• balancing and system services;
• storage services for other market participants;
• optimization of self-consumption for industrial users.

However, the existence of a statutory right to participate in a particular market does not mean that every model is automatically economically viable or bankable. Applicable market rules, price structures, battery degradation and cycle limits, connection conditions and the contracts through which revenues will be generated all need to be analyzed.

Which contracts are critical for a BESS project?

In a BESS project, contractual documentation is just as important as administrative permits.

1. BESS Supply / EPC Agreement

The agreement should precisely define the guaranteed MW power, usable MWh capacity, efficiency, system availability, permitted number and depth of cycles, degradation and acceptance tests.

Particular attention should be paid to capacity guarantees throughout the project’s lifetime. A battery delivering 20 MWh on the commissioning date will not necessarily retain the same usable capacity several years later.

The agreement should therefore determine who bears degradation risk and whether the manufacturer or EPC contractor is responsible for augmentation, module replacement or other remedial measures.

2. O&M and long-term servicing

Preventive and corrective maintenance, spare parts, response times, remote monitoring, access to BMS/EMS systems, software updates and responsibility for defects should all be regulated.

For a system whose commercial value depends on its availability during specific hours, a simple obligation to “repair a defect” is often insufficient.

3. Grid connection and market agreements

Grid connection agreements and related acts should be aligned with the actual operating model of the BESS – including taking electricity from the grid, delivering electricity to the grid, metering and the potential provision of balancing or system services.

Where revenues depend on an aggregator, trader or balancing service provider, those agreements also become part of the bankability analysis.

4. Financing

In a financed project, a bank or other lender will typically be interested in the assignability of key project agreements, step-in rights, manufacturer warranties, insurance, limitations of liability and the stability of expected revenues.

BESS technology also requires a different assessment of degradation risk, warranty risk and replacement cost compared with a conventional solar power plant.

Fire safety and technical risk

BESS safety should not be treated solely as a technical matter for the manufacturer.

Battery systems involve risks related to overheating, fire, thermal runaway, detection and fire suppression systems, physical separation between modules and access for emergency intervention.

Macedonian regulatory documentation for the authorization of storage facilities also includes documentation relating to fire protection. Accordingly, the allocation of responsibility for fire design, compliance, testing and potential defects should be clearly regulated in the EPC/Supply documentation as well.

Environmental issues and what happens to the battery at the end of its life?

Not every BESS is automatically subject to the same environmental procedure. The need for specific environmental approvals should be assessed according to the location, size, associated infrastructure and overall configuration of the project.

In addition, North Macedonia has in force the Law on Management of Batteries and Accumulators and Waste Batteries and Accumulators. For imported industrial battery systems, it should be determined in advance which entity has the relevant status and obligations under the regime governing the placing of batteries on the market and waste management.

From a project perspective, this means that it is useful for the Supply/EPC agreement to address issues such as:

• removal and replacement of battery modules;
• transport;
• recycling or other treatment;
• decommissioning costs;
• responsibility in the event of early replacement or recall.

A cost that will arise ten or fifteen years from now is still part of the project economics today.

What is happening with BESS in the region?

Macedonia is not an isolated example. Across the region, storage is rapidly moving from being an additional technology to becoming an important component of electricity infrastructure.

Serbia already links the integration of variable renewable energy sources and grid connection with the provision of balancing capacity. In certain cases where battery storage is used, Serbian regulation requires at least 0.4 MWh of storage per MW of installed power plant capacity, while the relevant regulation range must be at least 20%.

Bulgaria is implementing a substantially broader system-level approach. Through the RESTORE programme, financed with EUR 603 million from the Recovery and Resilience Facility, grid-scale infrastructure with at least 3,000 MWh of usable storage capacity was envisaged.

Greece, meanwhile, already has a detailed separate regulatory pathway for standalone electricity storage stations, including procedures for obtaining a Final Connection Offer and specific rules adopted during 2024 and 2025.

The regional trend is therefore relatively clear: the more solar and wind capacity enters the system, the more valuable flexibility, balancing and storage become.

What should an investor check before making a decision on BESS?

Before making a final investment decision, the legal and commercial due diligence should at least address the following questions:

1. Will the BESS be a standalone project, part of an existing power plant or part of a new power plant?
2. Who will own and who will operate the system?
3. Is the project included in the relevant Annual Plan?
4. What land rights are required for the batteries, substation, cables and access?
5. What construction act or permit is required for the specific configuration?
6. Is authorization from the Ministry required and what licensing regime applies?
7. What import/export capacity does the grid connection permit?
8. Can the BESS be used for the intended market and balancing model?
9. Does the EPC/Supply agreement guarantee not only initial capacity but also performance throughout the project lifecycle?
10. Who bears the risk of degradation, fire, module replacement and technological defects?
11. How are O&M, software/BMS/EMS access and long-term availability of spare parts regulated?
12. Who bears the costs and obligations relating to decommissioning, waste and recycling?
13. Are the project agreements acceptable to a bank or other lender?

In a BESS project, the answers to these questions are often more important than the price of the battery itself.

Frequently asked questions about BESS in North Macedonia

Does every photovoltaic power plant have to include BESS?

The Energy Law provides for an obligation applicable to power plants using a variable renewable energy source, within the regime established under Article 87. Following the amendments adopted in July 2026, the statutory range for the installed power of the storage system is at least 20% and no more than 40% of the power plant’s installed capacity, together with a requirement for at least a two-hour charging and discharging cycle. Statutory exceptions also exist. The status and applicable regime of each specific project should therefore be assessed separately.

Can BESS be charged with electricity from the grid?

Yes. The Law expressly provides that integrated storage of up to 40% of the power plant’s capacity may also store electricity taken from the grid and subsequently deliver it back to the grid, within the maximum approved simultaneous connection capacity.

Can BESS participate in the electricity market?

Yes. A storage operator may buy and sell electricity, provide storage services and offer system services, subject to the conditions established by the Law and the applicable grid and market rules. For certain storage systems with at least 1 MW of maximum delivery capacity, participation in the balancing mechanism is also envisaged.

Are MW and MWh the same?

No. MW indicates the power at which a BESS can charge or discharge, while MWh indicates the quantity of electricity it can store. Both parameters are crucial to the legal, technical and financial structure of the project.

BESS is already a legal and investment issue

The development of battery storage in North Macedonia is entering a new phase.

The Law no longer treats storage merely as a technical function of the electricity system. BESS may operate as a standalone energy facility, as an integrated part of a power plant and as a means of participating in electricity markets and system services.

At the same time, storage obligations for variable renewable energy sources, the large number of BESS initiatives included in the Annual Plan and the limitations of the electricity grid mean that battery systems will have an increasingly significant impact on how new solar and wind projects are developed.

For an investor, therefore, the key question is not only “which battery should we buy?”, but rather:

How should we structure the project so that the BESS can legally, technically and commercially perform the function for which the investment is being made?

The answer should be determined during the development phase – before the technology, grid connection and key project agreements are finalized.

Note: This article is intended for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. The applicable legal regime depends on the structure, capacity, location, grid connection and status of each individual project. The article is updated as of 8 September 2026.