By leveraging Wood Mackenzie's Europe Power Service price data (covering wholesale power, ancillary services and capacity markets), the report evaluates current investment opportunities in battery storage projects across the region, with a particular focus on Germany, Spain and France.
Which country is promoting the development of residential energy storage?
In terms of residential energy storage, the Polish government has launched Moj PRD 5.0 subsidy program to encourage the development of residential energy storage. Sweden's installed battery storage capacity is expected to grow from 503 MW in 2023 to 3.8 GW in 2030, with high revenue levels in the ancillary services market driving the market growth.
In Europe, the capacity of renewable energy sources is growing very rapidly, while traditional power plants are slowly being decommissioned. That's creating a unique new opportunity for investors amid the emerging demand for battery storage, which provides balance to electricity markets.
Compared to classic renewables, energy storage has really only become an investable asset in Europe over the last few years on the back of technology advances, market price signals, and government support mechanisms.
For short-duration energy storage assets, there are really three key revenue streams for energy storage assets in Europe. The first one is capacity payments, which have become a broadly implemented policy measure by governments to support system reliability and incentivize the installation of certain new power asset types.
Future market potential is concentrated in pre-sheet energy storage and energy storage co-located projects, residential and commercial storage market space is not large. Ireland's battery storage capacity is expected to grow from 792 MW in 2023 to 3.9 GW in 2030, mainly in the pre-table storage market.
Trading strategies are becoming increasingly sophisticated with a strong reliance on technology and big data analytics. In the UK — the most advanced battery market in Europe — there are currently 23 entities trading energy storage assets.