“Spreads have narrowed. Revenues are down right now,” Grover said.
“But the way I see that is largely a ‘right now’ problem. It is a short-term market cycle that will come back around, maybe not next week, but in the years ahead.”
Grover linked the pressure directly to coal generation timelines. “A lot of the people who are feeling pain right now probably built their business cases three years ago on an expectation of a roaring closing,” he said, referring to expected coal retirements that have since been pushed back.
Thomas Schmitz, general manager of energy markets at Aquila Clean Energy APAC, said the depressed revenue environment should not come as a surprise, given how battery storage systems function within the market.
“A battery is essentially the same function as a peaker,” Schmitz said, noting that peaking plants have historically operated at capacity factors of only 1-2%.
