The extreme rise in energy prices has reduced the payback period for investments in green power generation to less than two years. Along with security of supply risks, high prices make energy storage systems essential, both for energy producers and industrial consumers and even for public authorities.

“First of all, we look to see when an investment in a storage system is necessary, but the global market has already given the answer because the price is going up and will continue to go up and it’s unpredictable anyway. If we had a predictable market and no aggressive dynamics, storage systems would have been necessary in view of a future period of high prices. But, taking into account the compartment of large suppliers, storage systems become essential in planning an investment”, said Alexandru Gliga, Huawei Solution Manager, during the “Regional Approach – Chisinau” conference, organized by Energynomics.

At the level of the European Union, there is already legislation that obliges certain types of energy producers to also have their own energy storage capacities to help balance the energy system. Producers of energy from unpredictable sources (solar or wind) that have a peak production of more than 50 MW are targeted. In Romania, several levels ​​are being discussed from which to apply this obligation, and once entered into force, the law could stimulate investments in storage, especially among wind energy producers.

According to Gliga, there is a high interest from the market for investments in such storage capacities, and some beneficiaries prefer to invest their own funds and not wait for money from European programs because every day they buy energy from the grid means very high costs. In Romania, there is interest in investing in storage capacities from operators of photovoltaic parks larger than 50 MW. One of these companies owns several parks and plans to become an important player in the “storage as a service” market. Also, a company from the plastics sector and one from the automotive sector are analyzing such projects in order to ensure their own electricity consumption.

There are three main categories of potential users of these storage systems. First of all, green energy producers (photovoltaic, wind, hydro and biogas stations), gas and electrothermal plants and industrial consumers (factories, business parks, warehouse operators), to which public institutions might be added. Investing in an energy storage system can also be seen as a business opportunity and not necessarily a necessity, especially by consumers who see that self-consumption of energy allows them to avoid high market prices.

“An opportunity would be for storage systems to be viewed as grid services or to be built simultaneously with a new production facility for cost reasons,” he added.

The conference „Regional Approach Chișinău” was organized by Energynomics with the support of our partners: BRM East Energy MD, Huawei, Kawasaki Gas Turbine Europe, Schneider Electric, Transelectrica, and Transgaz.