Energy utility launches tender for major battery storage system
Contract seeks a supplier to design, construct and maintain a high-capacity battery energy storage system under a long-term operations agreement.
Contract seeks a supplier to design, construct and maintain a high-capacity battery energy storage system under a long-term operations agreement.
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EDF power solutions has gone to market for an integrated contract to design, build and maintain a large-scale battery energy storage system under the Perquie Battery Energy Storage Project. With a capacity of about 130MWh to 270MWh and a 20-year maintenance agreement, the procurement shows how battery projects are now being specified as long-term infrastructure rather than short-term pilot schemes.
The contract notice, published on 10th July 2026, sets out a full engineering, procurement, construction and operations and maintenance package for the battery energy storage system. The chosen supplier is expected to take responsibility for the asset from initial planning through to day-to-day operation over two decades.
According to the notice, the scope covers:
The capacity band of approximately 130MWh to 270MWh signals that the buyer is targeting a substantial installation. The range gives suppliers a clear sense of scale while leaving room for different technical configurations, all under a single, consistent delivery and maintenance model.
The most striking feature of the tender is the 20-year operations and maintenance agreement bundled into the main works contract. Instead of procuring the equipment and then letting separate service contracts, EDF power solutions is asking a single supplier to stand behind performance for the lifetime of the asset.
This long-horizon approach echoes a broader shift in power and storage procurements towards lifecycle service commitments. In April 2026 the DEPT OF DEFENSE advertised a contract for uninterruptible power systems maintenance and repair services that foregrounds comprehensive maintenance, repair and emergency support, including preventative measures, diagnostics and waste disposal.
Similarly, in February 2026 Myndigheten för civilt försvar sought supervision and maintenance services for uninterruptible power supply systems with batteries at multiple locations, explicitly providing for service under special circumstances. In both cases, the buyer treats power continuity as a strategic resilience issue rather than a routine facilities task.
For battery storage itself, a number of recent tenders take the same route. In April 2026 HOLDING SLOVENSKE ELEKTRARNE d.o.o. launched a project covering the design, supply, installation, commissioning and maintenance of battery storage systems for its group, with the necessary project documentation and permitting included and actual orders dependent on the contracting authority's needs.
Together, these notices point to a market where technical design, delivery and long-term asset stewardship are increasingly procured as a package. The Perquie project fits squarely within that pattern by locking in operations and maintenance for 20 years from the outset.
The EDF tender also joins a steady flow of battery energy storage projects across utilities, local government and transport operators in 2026. Buyers are not treating storage as a niche add-on: they are embedding it in core systems and facilities.
In March 2026 United Utilities Water Limited set up a multi-supplier framework for battery energy storage solutions to enhance power resilience and operational continuity across water and wastewater sites. That framework positions storage as a tool for keeping essential services running.
At local authority level, in July 2026 Derry City and Strabane District Council went to market for the design, supply, installation and commissioning of solar photovoltaic systems and battery energy storage at two depots, with contracts let on a lot-by-lot basis. The project shows how storage is now being built into everyday operational sites.
Industrial and generation operators are moving in the same direction. In March 2026 Verdo sought delivery and installation of a battery energy storage system at Verdo Produktion A/S in Denmark to provide backup power, enhance grid support and optimise energy costs.
In July 2026 Stadtwerke Winsen (Luhe) GmbH advertised the turnkey construction and operation of a grid-connected stand-alone battery storage system in Buxtehude, Germany, with an explicit focus on innovative solutions for participation in energy markets.
The scale of some procurements is also increasing. In April 2026 ENEA Nowa Energia sp. z o.o. launched a contract for delivery of components for a battery energy storage system with a total intended capacity of 840 MWh, including a guaranteed order of at least 600 MWh within 24 months and provision for possible advances and option rights.
New-build storage plants continue to join the pipeline. In July 2026 TAURON BME7 sp. z o.o. sought construction of the battery energy storage system BESS Stare Bogaczowice II along with the necessary infrastructure, while in June 2026 Infrabel sa opened a market consultation for the design and cost estimation of a battery energy storage system and bidirectional converter for integration into a 3 kV DC railway network.
Transport operators are also aligning storage with electrification plans. In July 2026 Busbetrieb Josef Ettenhuber GmbH published a tender to establish charging infrastructure for battery-electric buses, including planning, installation and maintenance across multiple depots, with photovoltaic systems and battery storage forming part of the solution.
Against this backdrop, the Perquie project sits in the mainstream of current practice: a high-capacity installation, procured on a turnkey basis, with the long-term operational model defined up front.
The notice also highlights how contracting models for storage are diversifying. Some buyers, such as United Utilities with its March 2026 multi-supplier framework, are building panels to call off systems across many sites. Others, like Stadtwerke Winsen in Buxtehude and EDF power solutions at Perquie, are opting for single, site-specific turnkey arrangements that bundle operation with delivery.
In June 2026 BeGreen A/S went further by creating a qualification system for suppliers to participate in future projects related to the development, installation and maintenance of renewable energy plants and battery energy storage systems. Applicants must meet specified documentation and suitability requirements before they can be invited to individual tenders, signalling a desire to streamline procurement for a pipeline of similar schemes.
For suppliers, the Perquie opportunity therefore sits alongside frameworks and qualification lists as one of several routes into the battery storage market, distinguished by its scale and by the depth of its long-term maintenance commitment.
The Perquie Battery Energy Storage Project notice gives only a high-level description of the required system, without specifying technologies, connection arrangements or how the storage will be operated. Those details will shape how attractive the project is to different types of bidders and how they price long-term service obligations.
What is clear is that buyers are increasingly coupling construction with long-term service obligations and, in many cases, integrating storage into critical infrastructure and transport systems. Upcoming stages of the Perquie procurement will indicate how far the market is willing to take on 20-year performance risk and how buyers balance bespoke plant design with repeatable contract structures.
Alongside continuing market consultations such as Infrabel's railway storage project and qualification schemes like BeGreen's, this contract suggests that large battery projects are set to remain a regular feature of procurement pipelines in the years ahead.
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