Across last week - May 13th to 19th, inclusive - we’ve provisionally estimated battery energy storage revenues of $260/MW/day. This is equivalent to around $95,000/MW, annualized.
To see total battery energy storage revenues for the year to date (they’re up 56% from this time last year), head to our latest Quick Take.
Grid conditions and battery energy storage output
Frequent dips in wind and solar generation meant that Real-Time prices resulted in evening price spikes over $100/MWh.
On the morning of May 13th, they spiked to $488/MWh - more than 20x higher than the average across the week. This was likely due to:
- low overnight wind generation,
- a large unit tripping offline,
- and the morning solar ramp having not yet started.
Due to these volatile grid conditions and daily price spikes, batteries provided substantial amounts of power during these evenings. Net storage output hit 1 GW on four occasions throughout the week, and battery discharge peaked at 1,533 MW on the evening of May 17th.
Revenue opportunities for battery energy storage systems
In terms of revenue opportunities, average daily Real-Time price spreads across the week were $87/MWh. And there were significant differences throughout the week. Average Real-Time prices were 10x larger on May 13th than on May 19th.
Day-Ahead spreads throughout the week were almost 3x larger, on average, than Real-Time spreads - peaking at $655/MWh on May 17th.
Clearing prices in the ERCOT Contingency Reserve Service (ECRS) and Non-Spinning Reserve were broadly in line with the available Day-Ahead prices throughout the week.
They were also around 1.6x higher than prices in Regulation Up and Response Reserve (RRS) - the Ancillary Services most dominated by battery energy storage. This is a decrease from 3x higher (April 29th - May 5th) two weeks before - but still shows signs that saturation may be arising in those services.
However, on May 17th, ahead of possible scarcity conditions, clearing prices across ECRS, RRS, Regulation Up, and Non-Spin all matched closely with Day-Ahead clearing prices.
Check out our previous roundups of energy storage revenue opportunities
- May 6th - May 12th - including the highest revenue day for battery energy systems in eight months
- April 29th - May 5th
- April 15th - April 28th
- April 8th - April 14th
Note: Due to the 60-day lag in ERCOT publishing its market disclosure data, the revenue figures provided here are provisional estimates and subject to change.
Readers are advised that these estimates should not be relied upon for making financial or investment decisions - as actual revenues may differ.