In November, battery energy storage revenues in Great Britain fell 12% from their 2024 high in October to £52k/MW/year. Despite the reduction, Balancing Mechanism revenues reached their highest level in 18 months. These figures are based on the new ME BESS GB Index, which was released in early December 2024.
Revenues continue to fluctuate each month
Since April, battery energy storage revenues haven’t moved in the same direction in successive months. Revenues have fluctuated each month as wind generation has driven trading opportunities. Despite this, revenues have broadly been on the rise since July.
The largest decrease in revenues came from wholesale markets - batteries earned 27% less than in October. This was combined with reduced frequency response revenues and lower imbalance earnings - a new inclusion to the ME BESS GB Index.
Increased Capacity Market and Balancing Mechanism revenues partially offset these reductions. Capacity Market contracts are more valuable in the winter months, meaning they will continue to rise until February 2025. Balancing Mechanism revenues rose to their second-highest level ever, reaching £13k/MW/year.
Various factors, including wind generation, gas and carbon prices, and in-merit dispatch rates drive battery revenues. November saw a decrease across most of these macro factors, however, Balancing Mechanism metrics improved.
Day-ahead wholesale price spreads reduced by 13% despite record-high days
Wholesale price spreads remain a key driver for battery energy storage revenues. In November, spreads decreased to £74/MWh on average, from £83/MWh in October. Despite the decrease, November still saw the second-highest monthly price spreads in 2024. High daily spreads were seen on 4th - 6th November. On November 6th, spreads were £250/MWh, the highest since December 2022. This day brought up the monthly average.