Week 23 in Southeast Europe was marked by higher electricity demand, weaker variable renewables and increased thermal generation. Regional demand rose 8.2% week on week to 15.15 TWh. At the same time, variable renewable output fell 8.9%, with wind down 15.5% and solar down 5.1%.
Thermal generation increased 24.5% to 4.22 TWh. Net imports also rose 9.1% to 1.22 TWh. Hourly prices followed a pattern of lower daytime levels followed by a steep evening ramp across most markets.
Week 23 system conditions and the evening price profile
The combination of higher demand and lower wind and solar output coincided with stronger thermal dispatch and greater import volumes. In that setting, the Week 23 hourly price profile showed prices climbing into the evening peak across most SEE markets.
This price shape aligns with battery operation around solar availability. Batteries can charge during lower-price daylight hours when solar output depresses prices, then discharge during evening hours when solar fades and demand remains high.
Implications for solar and wind project revenue profiles
The Week 23 dynamics affect how solar projects may realise revenues during their production window. With more PV in the system, a standalone solar plant may face lower realised prices during daylight generation periods.
A solar-plus-storage configuration can shift part of output into higher-value evening hours. It can also reduce curtailment exposure and support PPA delivery by aligning generation with periods where prices rise.
Batteries can also be used in wind-related strategies tied to market operations. They can help manage forecast errors, imbalance costs and short-duration output variability referenced for wind developers.
BESS market focus across Greece, Bulgaria and neighbouring countries
The strongest early BESS cases are expected where solar penetration is increasing, evening spreads are volatile and flexible capacity is limited. Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary, Serbia and Croatia were cited as fitting parts of this profile.
In those markets, batteries with two-hour and four-hour durations can be deployed for merchant arbitrage and additional services. The source also points to ancillary services, congestion management and balancing support as potential use cases.
Revenue resilience and financing considerations
Batteries were also described as improving bankability through revenue resilience rather than only expected generation. Lenders increasingly need evidence that returns can withstand exposure to low-price hours.
A BESS can reduce exposure to low-price periods and improve shape risk while supporting firmed delivery. It was also linked to strengthening contracts with industrial offtakers in addition to creating an extra revenue stack in merchant projects.
For merchant deployments, the additional revenue stack referenced includes participation across day-ahead, intraday and balancing markets. The same Week 23 conditions were used to illustrate how storage can respond to shifts in demand and renewable output.
Storage as a system asset under higher demand conditions
The region’s response to higher demand and weaker renewables included increased thermal dispatch and higher import levels during Week 23. Storage was described as a way to reduce reliance on expensive evening thermal generation.
The source also links batteries with limiting import dependence and improving grid flexibility under these operating conditions. This framing places the evening ramp as a key signal for storage value in Southeast Europe’s electricity markets.