Building Tomorrow: Ricardo’s Event on Energy Market Challenges

Focusing on the sustainability of renewable energy investments and energy storage, the multinational energy consultancy Ricardo hosted the event "Challenges in Financing Renewable Energy and Storage in Electricity Markets" on Tuesday, January 28, 2025, at the National Gallery of Greece and celebrated the New Year’s Eve cake-cutting. 

Key speakers included Dr. Leonidas Parousos, Managing Director of E3Modelling, Dr. Maria Kannavou, Director of Energy Systems Analysis, Mr. Alexandros Makrysopoulos, Head of Energy Modelling and Professor Pantelis Capros, Professor of Energy Economics at the National Technical University of Athens. 

The event brought together leading executives from the energy sector, investors, government officials, and media representatives, creating fertile ground for discussion on the future of the energy market.  

The discussion focused on the key challenges facing the renewable energy sector, particularly the uncertainties when financing relies on wholesale electricity markets. It is a relevant topic faced as a challenge by the industry, which is systematically assessed using the PRIMES-IEM electricity modelling tool of E3Modelling in the context of the subscription-based Electricity Market Outlook service (EMO).   

The presenters emphasized the model-based hourly simulation of Greece's National Energy and Climate Plan, projected until 2050, as an integral aspect of the EMO service. This framework meticulously quantifies the extensive system and market transformations while forecasting the economic trends and financial implications related to energy investments. The recent model-based analysis, situated within the context of the Electricity Market Outlook, underscores the significance of energy storage and its interplay with renewable energy investments to facilitate smooth operations and optimize revenue generation within the market. Furthermore, the team provided a comprehensive overview of the substantial sensitivity analyses conducted to explore the implications of uncertainties associated with the NECP strategy, particularly concerning gas prices and potential variances in the investment program for renewables and storage.

The conclusions drawn affirm the importance of the identified uncertainties for energy investors and market participants. The volatility of gas prices is poised to have a pronounced impact on the economic viability of renewable energy and storage investments in the future. This finding highlights the inherent risks associated with relying exclusively on wholesale market revenues for investment financing. Regarding the investment plan, observed market trends may prompt solar PV investments to surpass NECP projections, whereas delays in the advancement of storage technologies could occur. These simulated deviations were identified as having adverse effects on certain investments, while others demonstrated greater resilience. Additionally, some may encounter rent-seeking opportunities resulting from heightened market scarcities.   

The Electricity Market Outlook, as part of Ricardo’s Energy Market Analysis Approach, includes the complete dataset derived from the model-based electricity market simulations pertaining to the central National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) scenario as well as the three sensitivity analysis variants. The database, PDF report, Excel files, and, most notably, the interactive data exploration platform are readily accessible and fully functional.   

 Following the meeting's agenda, participants engaged in discussions aimed at networking, exchanging ideas regarding the future of energy markets, and fostering potential collaborations. 

Ricardo’s event served as an important platform for dialogue within the energy community, addressing key issues affecting energy markets and contributing to shaping a sustainable and resilient energy future. At the same time, it reaffirmed Ricardo’s commitment to developing tools and solutions that facilitate the transition toward a sustainable energy reality.