All RES projects, including battery energy storage systems (BESS), begin with securing the land and the grid connection. However, the critical immediate next steps involve building a team of partners with focus not only on technology, but on quality insurance, energy trading and O&M proven expertise. As the Romanian market races to integrate more renewables and storage, these elements become decisive for bankability, investor confidence and long-term profitability.

This was the central message of Delyan Iliev, Founder & Managing Director at Renewable Energy Insurance Broker (REIB), at a new episode of EnergynomicsTalks. With more than 25 years in the insurance industry and over a decade of direct involvement in renewable energy projects across Europe and the Americas, Iliev brings a unique perspective: the often-overlooked role of insurance in making projects viable.

Insurance as the invisible pillar of RES projects

While investors tend to place insurance at the end of their checklist, Iliev insists this is a mistake. “Always the investors put the insurance just on the last point of the whole topics… and this is not only in Romania, not only in Bulgaria, it’s in general.” Yet, without early engagement from specialized brokers, projects risk delays, under-coverage, or even bank rejection.

REIB has been active since 2011, growing out of Bulgaria’s solar boom and expanding rapidly into Romania, where the company today insures about 30% of PV projects and has already covered the country’s first operational BESS. At European level, REIB has insured more than 6 GWh of storage, in markets from Germany and the UK to Poland.

Why BESS changes the rules

If PV and wind assets have now relatively predictable insurance models, batteries are a different story. Their operational complexity, cycling patterns and safety risks introduce new exposures that insurance companies are still learning to understand. “With BESS it’s not only investing – you need to know how the investment will continue to be managed. It’s a long-term investment”. Reliable partners are needed: the energy trading company, the software provider, the insurance broker, the bank. And “everyone should be at the table from the very beginning”.

Premiums for BESS insurance currently run at least twice as high as those for PV projects. Iliev attributes this first to the novelty of the technology and the absence of long-term operational data, which leaves insurers cautious. The risk of thermal runaway is the most prominent technical fear reinforcing these higher costs. While, in theory, premiums could decline as experience and statistics accumulate, Iliev judges it more likely that the first wave of claims will actually push rates higher before any stabilization.

Key gaps and critical conditions

From REIB’s perspective as investor and insurer, Iliev highlighted several issues that can decide whether a BESS project is insurable and bankable:

• Cargo plus delay in start-up insurance – protecting against losses during equipment transport or installation.
• Business interruption coverage – too often ignored, yet critical for projects reliant on trading income.
• Technical design factors – such as the spacing between battery containers or the certification quality of equipment suppliers.
• Cybersecurity – increasingly included in insurance packages, as BESS are integral to national grids.

Iliev explained that they had identified significant gaps in the business interruption clauses and, as a result, had established special conditions for BESS projects together with leading insurance companies in the region.

Good to know

Asked about the local market, Iliev was confident Romania is ready for co-located storage, with PV projects offering an easier route to integration. Standalone BESS, however, face regulatory and connection challenges similar to those across Europe.

At the same time, the arrival of Nordic and Baltic energy trading companies could raise the standards of market operation. Software-driven optimization of BESS is where real value lies, Iliev emphasized, and only experienced traders with bankable track records can ensure sustainable returns.

A must-have for the future grid

Ultimately, Iliev sees no alternative to large-scale storage: “We all need BESS in order to balance the grid. It’s a must for each country after so many years of new PV and wind projects. Now is the time – first the grid to be improved, second, more and more BESS projects to help balance it.”

The full conversation with Delyan Iliev is available in the latest episode of EnergynomicsTalks, offering investors, developers and policymakers an inside view of how insurance and trading expertise can transform ambitious renewable projects into bankable realities.

👉 Watch the full interview HERE.