BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 18. Hungary-based
energy company MOL Group has commissioned a 37.4 MWp solar park and
a 20 MW battery energy storage facility with a storage capacity of
40 MWh at its Algyő site in Hungary, the company said.


The new facilities are expected to strengthen the energy
independence of MOL’s operations, improve electricity supply
flexibility and cut CO2 emissions by around 13,000 tonnes
annually.


“Recent experience has highlighted the importance of managing
intraday fluctuations in electricity generation. This is what we
are achieving by commissioning our latest energy storage facility.
The investment simultaneously promotes sustainability, security of
supply and economic competitiveness: green electricity generated
from our own sources reduces our reliance on external energy
supplies, while the battery storage system contributes to the
stability of the national power grid,” said György Bacsa, Group
Chief Strategic Officer of MOL Group.


The new solar park, combined with MOL’s existing power
generation facilities at Algyő, can fully cover the electricity
demand of the company’s operations in the region. Its annual output
is equivalent to the electricity consumption of around 22,500
households in Hungary’s Csongrád-Csanád County.


The 20 MW battery storage system is designed to help balance
fluctuations in electricity generation from weather-dependent
renewable sources. Its 40 MWh storage capacity is equivalent to the
annual electricity consumption of approximately 7,300 average
households in the county.


MOL said the project forms part of its long-term SHAPE TOMORROW
strategy, under which the company is expanding renewable generation
and energy storage capacity as part of its decarbonization
efforts.







The solar park was built by ALTEO Plc., in which MOL and its
partners hold a 73.8% stake. ALTEO operates around 115 MW of
renewable generation capacity from wind, solar, hydropower and
biogas facilities.


Following the commissioning of the new project, MOL operates
nine solar parks in Hungary with a combined capacity of 405 MW. The
company also operates two energy storage facilities with total
capacity of 80 MWh and plans to reach 500 MWh of storage capacity
in Hungary by 2030.


In Croatia, MOL currently operates two solar parks with a
combined capacity of 10 MW, while a third facility planned for next
year is expected to bring the country’s total capacity to 23
MW.


Overall, MOL Group’s photovoltaic capacity in the region has
reached 415 MWp, with the company estimating that its solar
facilities contribute to an annual reduction of around 160,000
tonnes of CO2 emissions.


MOL Group’s expansion of renewable generation and energy storage
is part of its SHAPE TOMORROW strategy, which targets carbon
neutrality across all scopes by 2050 and calls for low-carbon
projects to account for 30–40% of total capital expenditure between
2025 and 2030. The company has been expanding its photovoltaic
portfolio in Hungary through both new developments and
acquisitions, while also increasing the use of renewable
electricity and developing other low-carbon technologies.