Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners II completes acquisition of Nivala BESS from Fotowatio Renewable Ventures

Foresight has today announced that Foresight Energy Infrastructure Partners II SCSp (“FEIP II”) has completed its acquisition of a 100% interest in Nivala, a battery energy storage system (“BESS”) from Fotowatio Renewable Ventures. Nivala is Finland’s largest BESS project. 

Nivala is a fully permitted, ready-to-build battery energy storage system project, with a 100MW/400MWh capacity located in the city of Nivala, in the North Ostrobothnia region of Finland.  

This investment, which is Foresight’s second in Finland, following the acquisition of Puskakorpi, an 88MW in 2021 via FEIP I, strengthens FEIP II's exposure to energy storage and grid flexibility infrastructure. With a four-hour duration, the battery is designed to participate in Finland's wholesale, intraday and ancillary services markets, a significant revenue driver for Finnish BESS, and help support the integration of renewable generation and the decarbonisation of the Finnish power system. With the acquisition, Foresight will continue to develop the project which is expected to commence commercial operations in the second half of 2028.

Finland has emerged as one of the most attractive BESS markets in the Nordics, due to rapid renewable energy growth, particularly in onshore wind. Finland also carries a positive demand side story, acting as a key hub for Europe’s data centre buildout following a recent announcement from Google to invest €13bn in data centres across Finland. Together, these tailwinds increase the need for grid flexibility and BESS.

Richard Thompson, Partner and Co-Manager of FEIP & FEIP II at Foresight Group, said: “The energy transition is no longer only about decarbonisation, it is increasingly about maintaining system security, reliability and resilience as electricity demand grows and economies become more electrified. As Finland sees accelerated investment in data centres and new industrial demand, we expect grid-scale battery storage to play an increasingly important role in providing flexibility, supporting grid stability and helping integrate more renewable power onto the system. Project Nivala provides immediate access to this critical infrastructure opportunity.”

Javier Huergo, Chief Investment Officer of FRV, noted: “This transaction reflects FRV’s ability to create value throughout the entire development cycle of its projects and successfully execute its asset rotation strategy. The sale of Nivala allows us to crystallise the value generated during the development phases and reinvest those resources in new opportunities that will continue to drive the energy transition and strengthen our international BESS project portfolio”.

Foresight’s BESS portfolio across Europe consists of around 550 MW of operational capacity.