Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc, a UK fund focused on utility-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS), anticipates an increase in its operational revenues for 2024, driven by growing capacity and improving market conditions.
Despite a 12.8% year-over-year fall in revenues during the first quarter of 2024, the company recorded GBP 33.8 million (USD 43.8m/EUR 40.6m) in the first 10 months of the year and expects to exceed the total revenue of GBP 38.7 million from 2023.
The fund's capacity has expanded to 845 MW/1,207 MWh, and favorable market conditions are emerging, driven by rising volatility in renewable energy generation, modest growth in power demand linked to electric vehicle adoption, stabilizing electricity prices, and reduced coal plant supply.
In addition, the fund welcomed positive regulatory measures to support the UK's decarbonization objectives, including steps by the National Energy System Operator (NESO) to accelerate battery storage's role in the Balancing Mechanism.
The government's initiatives, including the introduction of the Quick Reserve service and the eligibility of lithium-ion batteries for the Cap and Floor mechanism, are seen as key revenue drivers for BESS projects.
Ben Guest, Fund Manager of Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc and Managing Director of Gresham House New Energy, stated, “Lithium-ion is now the most competitive technology, in terms of cost and round-trip efficiency, at any duration up to at least 10 hours and will become increasingly competitive at longer durations as battery prices fall further.”
