The storage market is moving at 2 speeds!

Event: Renewable Energy Tech, Thessaloniki

First published: Energypress

Ypatios Moysiadis, CEO of WattCrop, referred to the challenges and the progress recorded by the storage market in Greece at the Renewable Energy Tech exhibition.

As he noted, it is expected that batteries would be the main focus of the exhibition, while the market is in a holding pattern. Specifically, among other things, he noted:

“We have 2 different speeds. On the one hand, the projects that have qualified through tenders for which we are waiting to see how and whether they will finally be implemented. On the other, with the ministerial which we hope will increase the capacity to 4.6 gigawatts and give more perspective to the market (the ministerial was issued after the report, for 4.7 gigawatts). From there, investors are also waiting for signals from the TSOs on how exactly the so-called revenue stacking will be created, because without it, things in the battery market will be difficult for many people. Of course the banks will also have to respond accordingly in financing the projects. I don’t think there is a technology issue, as these are mature now, and prices have come down and will come down further in the coming period.

The main thing is to see in the end which of all these projects can be implemented and under which economic model.”

Asked about the issues that investors should take into account, Mr.Moysiadis noted that we have some critical areas that may change the course of things. “At the European level we have: the geopolitical issues, the announcement of the Green Industrial Deal, which is yet to be seen how it will be implemented and how the various resources will be distributed. The issue of networks, which cannot meet the demand for new connections, both in Greece and in Europe. We need much more investment in the network. Beyond that, the fact that at the European level the demand is much lower than 2019, despite the entry of electrification and electrification of different sectors, gives a very strong signal. This may mean that many industries are leaving Europe and producing somewhere else, which should be of great concern. In addition, there is an oversupply of projects, either production or storage, which creates a situation of uncertainty as to how and where they will be implemented.”

As he pointed out, all of the above are issues that should be of concern to the investing public. “In Greece we should be very concerned about all this. We don’t even have the regulatory framework yet for battery revenues, something we need to clarify in order to model it. Investors will have to be very careful about whether they go ahead with battery projects, lest the batteries themselves reach a level where they are not needed.”