Why Latvia’s first grid-scale battery is a breakthrough for the Baltics
Guest/partner contributor
Posted on: 24 February 2026
In this Energy Transitions podcast, Michael Hierholzer and Armin Fürderer of Rolls-Royce Power Systems, highlight the technical, operational and human aspects of this pioneering BESS project.
After Latvia disconnected from the Soviet grid in February 2025, ensuring sufficient flexibility to maintain grid stability became a national priority.
Without the Belarus, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania (BRELL) backup, the Baltic grid now relies on internal resources and EU-synchronous support, with batteries being particularly important to provide fast-response services. With a market in flux, a growing renewable share, and a synchronised continental grid, Latvia was ready to take a bold step into large-scale battery deployment – a step which they have taken with Rolls-Royce Power Systems.
In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, Pamela Largue speaks with Michael Hierholzer, VP Strategy, Business Development & Product Management and Armin Fürderer, VP Sustainable Customer Solutions about country’s first grid-scale BESS system, how it was implemented and how it’s performing.
This episode is brought to you in partnership with Rolls-Royce Power Systems.
In this episode of the Energy Transitions podcast, you will learn more about:
- The pace of energy transition in the Baltic region, as well as current energy mix and market dynamics;
- The BRELL disconnect and the impact it had on Latvia’s grid;
- The opportunities that made Latvia’s first grid-scale BESS project possible and the challenges associated with the project;
- How the system has been performing thus far;
- How to mitigate cybersecurity risks for critical infrastructure like BESS;
- Key learnings from the project that could be employed in projects throughout the region;
- What’s next for Rolls-Royce Power systems in this region and in terms of BESS.
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Listen to previous episodes:
What will it take to truly digitalise the European power grid?
A Dutch and German perspective on the power grid capacity crunch
Read more about energy storage:
European market readiness for thermal energy storage advances
Nidec Conversion and Rolls-Royce to power a 582MWh BESS in Lithuania
