For example, the average revenue of an Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) battery in 2023 was $182 per kilowatt per year, but the best-performing asset in the same region was closer to $300 per kilowatt per year, a 60 percent increase. 5 A variety of factors, including design choices such as battery duration and commercial strategy, can affect these outcomes.
Although academic analysis finds that business models for energy storage are largely unprofitable, annual deployment of storage capacity is globally on the rise (IEA, 2020). One reason may be generous subsidy support and non-financial drivers like a first-mover advantage (Wood Mackenzie, 2019).
How can energy storage be profitable?
Where a profitable application of energy storage requires saving of costs or deferral of investments, direct mechanisms, such as subsidies and rebates, will be effective. For applications dependent on price arbitrage, the existence and access to variable market prices are essential.
Business Models for Energy Storage Rows display market roles, columns reflect types of revenue streams, and boxes specify the business model around an application. Each of the three parameters is useful to systematically differentiate investment opportunities for energy storage in terms of applicable business models.
How do I evaluate potential revenue streams from energy storage assets?
Evaluating potential revenue streams from flexible assets, such as energy storage systems, is not simple. Investors need to consider the various value pools available to a storage asset, including wholesale, grid services, and capacity markets, as well as the inherent volatility of the prices of each (see sidebar, “Glossary”).
While energy storage is already being deployed to support grids across major power markets, new McKinsey analysis suggests investors often underestimate the value of energy storage in their business cases.
Why should you invest in energy storage?
Investment in energy storage can enable them to meet the contracted amount of electricity more accurately and avoid penalties charged for deviations. Revenue streams are decisive to distinguish business models when one application applies to the same market role multiple times.