Recording of Tuesday, June 23, 2026 | The smarter E Europe Conferences 2026 | Language: English | Duration: 34:14 .

Challenges and Trends in Renewable Energy Development

Grid bottlenecks significantly impact revenue in the renewable energy sector, affecting collaboration opportunities among solar, battery, and wind developers. Solar developers show a keen interest in partnerships, particularly in collocating with battery projects and wind energy to optimize grid usage. Establishing clear contracts is essential for defining roles and responsibilities and preventing future disputes. Challenges arise in coordinating joint grid connections, particularly with complex revenue-sharing agreements among partners. The decline in standalone solar developments indicates a market shift towards integrating storage solutions, particularly in regions like Germany. However, financing and regulatory frameworks complicate the development process for co-located solar and storage projects. Increased market fragmentation between Europe and the U.S. highlights the need for adaptable financing strategies. The evolving regulatory landscape could enhance the integration of battery storage within energy markets, prompting a call for change in outdated practices.

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Talk of session: Utility-scale Storage: New Challenges and New Strategies

As the energy storage market has evolved, one of the biggest barriers to battery storage deployment is grid connection. In Germany, one of Europe's most attractive markets, several gigawatts of storage remain stuck in connection queues, which questions project business cases as long-term revenues are unknown and projects cannot go online soon to benefit from existing prices and market conditions. Limited grid capacity means developers must act proactively and think creatively. Possible solutions include closer collaboration with DSOs to enable system-friendly integration, co-locating batteries with PV to use existing infrastructure, or cable pooling to optimize grid usage. Therefore, beyond trading and arbitrage, strategies like infrastructure sharing, partnerships with optimizers, and renting out batteries through tolling instead of developing projects are gaining ground. This session will examine how to navigate grid constraints and unlock the full value of storage in today's evolving energy system.

Further Talks of this session:

Welcome and Introduction

Speaker

Anna Darmani
Principal Analyst, Energy Storage Europe
Wood Mackenzie
United Kingdom

To Talk

Beyond Revenues - Future Proof Revenue Stack for BESS

Speaker

Sebastian Glibic
Transaction Manager
Vattenfall
Netherlands

To Talk

Comparing Co-Location Models for Utility-scale Storage Across Europe

Speaker

Genna Boyle
Chief Commercial Officer & Head of EMEA
Gridcog
United Kingdom

To Talk

From Merchant Risk to Bankable Flexibility: Utility-scale Battery Storage Business Models in Grid-Constrained Markets

Speaker

Dr. Stefan Englberger
Head of Commercial & Investment Analysis
ECO STOR GmbH
Germany

To Talk

Enabling Utility-scale BSS Projects Through Cable Pooling - Status, Opportunities and Challenges

Speaker

Dr. Oliver Schmidt
CEO
dvlp.energy
Germany

To Talk

Unlocking Utility-scale Storage in Europe: Overcoming Grid Bottlenecks With Innovative Business Models and Best Practices

Speaker

Eva Zimmermann
Senior Research Associate Flexible Energy
Aurora Energy Research
Germany

To Talk

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