What does Doe's $125 million funding mean for battery energy storage?

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced it will provide $125 million in funding to support two Energy Innovation Hub groups that will look at challenges facing the battery energy storage industry.

Is battery storage a risky investment?

Firstly, the nascent nature of energy storage technology means that fixed income lenders and senior debt providers are naturally risk averse. Battery storage has less of a track record than other renewable energy assets such as solar and wind power.

Why do energy storage projects need project financing?

The rapid growth in the energy storage market is similarly driving demand for project financing. The general principles of project finance that apply to the financing of solar and wind projects also apply to energy storage projects.

What is a battery energy storage system?

Battery energy storage system. Battery energy storage systems (BESS) can help address the challenge of intermittent renewable energy. Large scale deployment of this technology is hampered by perceived financial risks and lack of secured financial models.

Are battery projects generating electricity?

Unlike wind and solar projects, battery projects are not generating electricity. Rather, they provide a service and act as arbitrage assets. With a battery storage asset, electricity is bought and sold at different times of day to make money by storing electricity when prices are low and discharging it when prices are high.

Can you finance a solar energy storage project?

Since the majority of solar projects currently under construction include a storage system, lenders in the project finance markets are willing to finance the construction and cashflows of an energy storage project. However, there are certain additional considerations in structuring a project finance transaction for an energy storage project.