Nocaj’s 72 MWh battery can make low-carbon electricity more predictable for Serbian exporters, potentially improving the economics and CBAM readiness of renewable-energy projects. The EU’s definitive CBAM period began in 2026, increasing the relevance of carbon costs for covered exporters, including steel, aluminium and cement producers.
Storage can help align renewable electricity use with predictable factory consumption and reduce reliance on high-carbon grid purchases during selected hours. A more manageable procurement profile may also reduce exposure to volatile market purchases and improve the capture of renewable output. The commercial case combines these benefits with a stronger electricity evidence package for carbon reporting; storage does not by itself reduce embedded emissions or create a CBAM exemption. Steel, aluminium and cement exporters may benefit from a cleaner and more manageable electricity procurement profile.
Evidence and market conditions
The compliance value of a battery depends on the applicable CBAM methodology and the evidence chain, not merely on owning storage. Metering, contractual allocation, guarantees of origin where relevant, and verifiable consumption data remain essential to support evidence of electricity use. Storage can strengthen the energy-management side of CBAM readiness, but it does not replace emissions rules or establish CBAM treatment on its own. Methodology and verifiable data remain central to any compliance value.
Serbian renewable generation is increasingly exposed to hourly price and capture risk, while industrial users continue to face expensive evening periods. SEEPEX recorded Serbia’s first negative day-ahead electricity price in May 2026, adding a new price signal for generators and consumers. Solar-plus-storage can shift some output to hours when factories consume electricity and grid power costs more. Nocaj has 270 MWp of solar capacity and 72 MWh of storage. Its battery is not large enough to make the solar plant fully firm, but it can improve output shaping and reduce imbalance in a bilateral supply arrangement. Any CBAM compliance value still depends on methodology and documented electricity evidence, rather than storage capacity alone.
