Eric Scotto: Falling storage and renewables costs will help meet rising electricity demand

Declining energy storage costs and expanding renewables capacity will enable Europe to meet the challenge of intensified electrification and rising consumption, according to Eric Scotto, CEO of Akuo Energy. Thanks to falling costs, renewable energy has already won the race against nuclear power, he emphasized at Belgrade Energy Forum 2025.

The price of energy storage today is ten times lower than it was ten years ago, and the density of storage has tripled in the last three years, Eric Scotto said. Speaking at a panel on decarbonization in Southeast Europe, he explained that the operating power of a battery system in a standard TEU container, twenty feet or 6.1 meters long, now reaches 6 MW.

“Today, the challenge is flexibility. We know how to produce cheap, but what is important is to reconcile offer and demand… Thanks to storage, we can do that today,” Scotto said on the sidelines of the conference.

Renewables have already won the race against nuclear energy

Talking about the cost of generation from renewable sources and nuclear power, he argued that the race has already been decided. “It’s over. We won the race. Renewable is the cheapest way to produce energy,” he underscored.

Scotto emphasized that the Balkan region, which is lagging in the energy transition, can now enjoy the benefits of the latest and cheapest renewable energy and storage technologies. “This morning, some people were saying that we are late in the Balkans, and that’s the best news we could get this morning because renewables are the cheapest way to produce energy, so we’re going to benefit from the latest and most efficient technologies… from solar, from wind, from hydro, and storage,” claims the top man of the French renewable energy company.

The slow energy transition is good news for the Balkans

Scotto stressed the importance of collaboration among Western Balkan countries, adding that he hopes to see more of it in the coming days, weeks, and months. “We have the skills and we have the know-how in those countries. We need to share, we need to work more together, and, of course, we need more international interconnection,” he said.

Akuo Energy has secured a PPA for its Bela Anta 2 wind project in Serbia

Talking about Akuo Energy, Scotto said that it brings to the region its knowledge and experience from numerous project around the world. The France-based independent global renewable energy producer recently signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Serbia’s state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) for the Bela Anta 2 wind project.

With a total installed capacity of 80 MW, Bela Anta 2 was among the awarded projects in Serbia’s second round of renewable energy auctions, held in early 2025, securing a contract for difference (CfD).