Battery storage can improve the economics and CBAM readiness of renewable-energy projects in Serbia by making low-carbon electricity more usable and predictable for exporters. It can align renewable supply with factory consumption and reduce reliance on high-carbon grid purchases during selected hours, but it does not reduce embedded emissions by itself or create a CBAM exemption.
The EU’s definitive CBAM period began in 2026, increasing the relevance of carbon costs for covered exporters. Steel, aluminium and cement producers may benefit commercially from a cleaner, more manageable electricity procurement profile. Storage can strengthen energy management, but it is not a CBAM instrument and does not replace the underlying emissions rules.
Evidence requirements remain
Storage’s compliance value depends on the applicable CBAM methodology and the electricity evidence chain, not simply on owning a battery. Metering, contractual allocation and verifiable consumption data remain essential, alongside guarantees of origin where relevant, to support evidence of electricity use.
For exporters, the business case can combine lower exposure to volatile market purchases, better renewable capture and a more controlled electricity evidence package for carbon reporting. Storage can help manage renewable electricity use against predictable consumption patterns, but its compliance value depends on the evidence and methodology applied.
Price exposure and the Nocaj example
Serbia’s renewable generation is becoming more exposed to hourly price and capture risk, while industrial users continue to face expensive evening periods. The Serbian power exchange SEEPEX recorded the country’s first negative day-ahead price in May 2026.
Solar-plus-storage can shift some renewable output to the hours when factories consume electricity and grid power is more expensive. The Nocaj project, an example of this market direction, has 270 MWp of solar capacity and 72 MWh of storage.
The Nocaj 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. For CBAM reporting, the electricity evidence chain remains relevant alongside the applicable methodology; owning storage capacity alone is not sufficient.
