HELSINKI, May 11, 2026, 00:02 EEST
Longi Green Energy Technology has rolled out its first energy storage system in Finland—a modest 2 MW/4 MWh battery, but one that’s drawing attention thanks to its integration with the Söderby Solpark solar installation on the Åland Islands. According to Longi Energy Storage, the BESS works alongside a 4 MW solar array on site. Capacity is 4 MWh, a figure that tracks the total electricity the battery can hold.
Timing is critical as Finland ramps up weather-dependent energy sources and needs batteries to manage volatile supply. By early February, roughly 1,050 MW of storage had been plugged into the Finnish grid, grid operator Fingrid said. The company also cautioned that new battery sites need to be chosen carefully to prevent regional congestion.
Longi is touting the project as a showcase, pointing to the challenges of Europe’s colder, high-latitude, island grids. According to the company, the setup is built for sub-zero weather, with tweaks aimed at boosting “grid-friendliness”—that is, making renewable power more stable and easier for the network to take on. China Daily
Located at Söderby Solpark—the Åland Islands’ biggest solar park, according to PVTIME—the project features a Longi system designed to react fast when frequency shifts. It also offers black-start capability, so it’s able to reboot parts of the grid independently after an outage, without waiting for external power.
Battery demand in Finland has moved firmly into the mainstream. Back in February, Statkraft announced a seven-year power purchase agreement for two battery sites being developed by OX2 in western Finland—one 110 MW, the other 125 MW, both set to come online in 2028. Hallvard Granheim, the head of Statkraft’s markets division, told Reuters the company is essentially “buying access to the battery” and will handle optimization. Reuters
Local suppliers are on the move, too. According to Olli-Pekka Janhunen, Planning Manager at Fingrid, updated Finnish grid regulations now demand that battery storage installations come equipped with grid-forming features—meaning they must react to shifts in voltage and frequency “near instantaneously and independently.” Finnish grid storage player Merus Power recently delivered a 30 MW grid-forming setup in Valkeakoski. Fingrid-Lehti
Longi has been ramping up its storage presence across Europe. Back in April, the company announced that its 13.75 MW/50.16 MWh Montalto BESS project in Italy—installed alongside a 35 MWp solar plant—was now operational, representing Longi’s first fully integrated storage system on the continent.
Longi isn’t just pitching hardware—it’s pushing bankability, too. In BloombergNEF’s Q2 2026 report, the firm landed Tier 1 status among energy storage manufacturers for the eighth straight quarter, thanks to project track record, tech chops, bankability, and financial footing.
The Finland launch comes amid heightened security tensions. On Sunday, Russian media reported President Vladimir Putin’s comments: he accused Finland of joining NATO with the expectation that Russia would collapse and said Helsinki wanted to position itself to take advantage, but also noted that there are no territorial disputes between the two neighbors. Finland officially entered NATO on April 4, 2023, after all then-30 member parliaments ratified its membership, according to NATO.
A 2 MW battery isn’t exactly a strategic asset by itself. Real-world hurdles are more immediate—think grid connection delays, congestion, winter reliability, and the challenge of selling flexibility in jumpy power markets. What Longi does get, though, is a live Nordic test case as Finland’s storage sector ramps up, while Chinese clean-tech firms look to show they can tweak their systems for Europe’s tougher grid standards.
