Serbia’s Nocaj solar-plus-storage project, with 270 MWp of solar capacity and a 72 MWh battery, illustrates how storage may support exporters preparing for the EU’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). Battery storage can make low-carbon electricity more usable and predictable, helping align renewable supply with factory consumption and reducing reliance on high-carbon grid purchases in selected hours. It does not itself reduce embedded emissions or provide a CBAM exemption.
CBAM readiness depends on electricity evidence
The definitive CBAM period began in 2026, increasing the relevance of carbon costs for covered exporters. Steel, aluminium and cement producers may benefit commercially from cleaner, more manageable electricity procurement, while storage can strengthen energy management without replacing the underlying emissions rules.
Storage’s compliance value depends on the applicable CBAM methodology and the supporting evidence chain, not simply on owning a battery. Metering, contractual allocation, guarantees of origin where relevant, and documented electricity consumption data remain necessary to support claims about electricity use.
For exporters, the potential business case combines reduced exposure to volatile market purchases, better capture of renewable output and a more controlled electricity evidence package for carbon reporting. A battery can help determine when renewable power is used, but cannot by itself establish how that electricity is treated under CBAM.
Serbian market signals and the Nocaj project
Serbia’s renewable generation is increasingly exposed to hourly price and capture risk, while industrial users continue to face expensive evening periods. In May 2026, SEEPEX recorded Serbia’s first negative day-ahead electricity price, highlighting changes in hourly prices for both generation and consumption.
Solar-plus-storage can shift some renewable output toward factory demand and periods when grid electricity is more expensive. The Nocaj project, cited as an example of this market direction, pairs 270 MWp of solar capacity with 72 MWh of storage.
The 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. Its relevance to CBAM would still depend on the applicable methodology and documented electricity evidence, rather than on the project’s storage capacity alone.