Montenegro’s low-carbon strategy work points to greater deployment of industrial prosumers, including a planning stream that anticipates support for 60 MW of industrial prosumer capacity. Behind-the-meter battery energy storage systems could form a distinct industrial market in Southeast Europe, where factories finance systems through savings from their own electricity use rather than speculative wholesale-market revenue. This model ties project value to customer load and avoided costs, rather than relying mainly on trading income.
Romania had 114,780 prosumers with battery storage by 31 May 2026, around one-third of all its prosumers. The figures show how quickly storage can spread when self-consumption economics and policy support align, although most installations are not industrial-scale assets.
Factory batteries can reduce electricity costs and manage demand
For factories, batteries can lower demand peaks and increase the use of on-site solar generation. They can also reduce imbalance charges, keep critical loads operating during short disturbances and shift electricity purchases away from the most expensive wholesale hours.
Industrial customers can capture value through peak-demand reduction, self-consumption, backup and imbalance management without becoming power traders. Savings tied to a site’s own load profile may be easier to forecast than long-term merchant arbitrage, which depends on wholesale-market revenue.
Bankability depends on the host’s creditworthiness, the measurability of savings and whether the battery is sized appropriately for the site’s load. When those conditions are met, a system can be financed as an energy-efficiency and resilience asset, with funding assessed against customer savings rather than speculative trading returns.
Similar programmes across Southeast Europe could create a customer base for commercial and industrial battery systems. Project financing will still depend on the host, evidence of savings and how well the system fits the site’s demand.