Political obstacles to the growth of onshore wind in Europe, making better use of energy storage to address the challenge of long grid connection queues, and forecasting the energy needs of the data centre industry were among the pressing issues on the agenda at last week’s Tamarindo Financing Energy Transition conference in central London.
Political obstacles to the growth of onshore wind in Europe, making better use of energy storage to address the challenge of long grid connection queues, and forecasting the energy needs of the data centre industry were among the pressing issues on the agenda at last week’s Tamarindo Financing Energy Transition conference in central London, which was attended by around 200 delegates. Here we bring you a run-down of ten of the key takeaways from the insight-packed event.
1. There remains a strong appetite to grow onshore wind in Europe and the UK despite the rise of political parties opposed to renewables
Joanna Ellis, chief commercial officer at developer Nadara said that, while developers should not underestimate the rise of anti-renewables political parties in Europe and ‘Nimbyism’, there was still momentum behind the drive to deliver renewables including onshore wind. “There is still a positive sentiment towards onshore wind,” she said, while acknowledging that that there were pockets of opposition in some local communities. She said engaging with communities early in the development process could help to build support for technologies such as onshore wind.
2. European countries should follow the UK’s system of Contracts for Difference (CfD) when auctioning offshore wind sites because it is tried and tested
Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners chief operating officer and partner Martin Neubert said ecent offshore tender failures in Europe are a healthy sign of developers not taking disproportionate risks, and that it was positive that such failures are driving more countries to consider using a UK-style CfD system. “I think the UK has been a proven system and I think it has been more refined,” he said. Neubert added that it made sense for more countries to “use what has been a proven concept”.
3. More capital is entering the energy storage sector as the market matures, with investors that usually focus on the wind and solar markets looking to diversify their portfolios – the German storage market is proving particularly attractive
Shane Power, investments director at NTR plc, said: “We are seeing more flight inward in the sector – for traditional wind and solar investors, battery storage acts as a hedge.” With regard to the markets offering the most appeal, Paul Mason, chief investment officer at Harmony Energy, said the German market in particular was becoming particularly popular, with a lot of investors chasing relatively few projects. Rutwij Hoshing, investment manager at Gore Street Capital, agreed that Germany was a very “investable market”, but added that many investors were targeting markets across Europe, including GB.
4. Debt finance is available for high quality energy storage projects, but securing equity investment is more challenging
Chris Elder, CEO of battery storage platform Fidra Energy, said the debt market for the “right [energy storage] project will be there.” He added that debt would be available for storage projects with high-quality sponsors and earnings as well as a high-quality team delivering the project. But he added: “The equity market is harder, there is a higher cost of capital and the return is based on merchant risk. Storage technology has evolved so quickly – trying to make a 25-year plus investment in a technology that is changing so quickly is a challenge.”
5. Forecasting the energy needs of the data centre industry is difficult
Jerome Guillet, managing director at SNOW, said, with regard to the projected growth of the data centre sector in Europe and further afield, there was still a question about whether this would lead to significantly higher power demand. “The reality is that the power system is becoming a lot more decentralised and fragmented,” he said. “The task of the grid is to bring all of this together and it’s getting tougher and tougher.” Similarly, the financing needs of data centres are unpredictable. Heiko Ludwig, global head of structured finance & general manager London branch at NORD/LB, said: “We thought there was much more data centre financing demand in Europe but it was not even half of what we expected in Europe [so far in 2025], but an almost tsunami-like demand in the US.”
6. Insurers are comfortable underwriting data centres co-located with energy storage projects
Fraser McLachlan, chairman of green transition underwriter TMGX, said he was “pretty comfortable with data centres”. He added: “I like co-located projects and view them as a new source of revenue for the insurance market”. However, McLachlan said that questions remained about the approach to pricing business interruption risks.
7. With exceptionally low and negative pricing in the EU, especially in PV-dominated countries, onshore wind can act as a flexible, grid stabilising force
Joanna Ellis, chief commercial officer at Nadara, said batteries can help the EU onshore wind sector grow as they can be used to address issues caused by grid constraints and that giving consideration to hybridising wind and batteries, and solar and batteries, was a sensible way forward.
8. Greater coordination between national and local policymakers can support renewables companies to roll out more capacity in Europe, including the UK
Lucy Whitford, managing director UK&I, development & construction, at RES, identified a strong ambition from the UK’s Labour government to expand renewables: “It [the government] came to power with a very positive attitude.” However, Whitford added that central government could accelerate deployment by working more closely with local policymakers and communities. She also said the renewable energy industry can also play a crucial role by making a clearer case regarding the benefits technologies including solar, wind and energy storage offered to the grid: “We need to be better at our lobbying and keep our messaging simple.”
9. Given the long queues for grid connections in European markets, making more use of battery storage is an effective way of addressing the challenge
Francesco Cacciabue, global head of clean energy investments at Nuveen, said that the cannibalisation of solar energy meant that investing in battery storage was key when it came to optimising use of the grid. However, Carmen Caminero , UK managing director at EDP Renewables, said it was important there were “attractive renumeration frameworks for battery storage and that there was better integration of battery storage in dispatch decisions”.
10. Energy storage’s flexibility and trading potential makes it a worthwhile addition to renewable energy investors’ portfolios
Ingmar Grebien, managing director and head of GS Pearl Street at Goldman Sachs, said storage is the “most flexible asset in the portfolio and a good addition from a trading perspective”. He added that the UK is the most attractive European country for solar and storage investment and development.
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