GoldenPeaks Capital (GPC) is a European investment firm with a strong presence in solar photovoltaics and battery energy storage systems (BESS) in Europe. With projects spanning Poland, Hungary, and Italy, GPC operates across the full renewable energy lifecycle—from development through to operations.
We spoke to Thomas Franks, Head of Energy Storage at GoldenPeaks Capital, about the work GPC are doing, and how Gridcog is helping achieve their energy modelling goals.
“GoldenPeaks Capital (GPC) is a Independent Power Producer and Trader, specialising in the turnkey development, construction, operation, and provision of solar energy and Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) across Poland, Hungary, and Italy,” said Thomas, Head of Battery Storage. “The company is active throughout the entire renewable energy value chain—from greenfield development and engineering to procurement, construction, and long-term asset operation.”
As part of a strategic shift toward grid flexibility and decarbonisation, GPC is expanding into large-scale battery storage.
“Recently, GPC acquired two BESS projects in Poland totaling 70 MW / 280 MWh, both of which secured contracts in the 2024 Capacity Market auction,” Thomas explained. “These acquisitions mark the beginning of GPC’s broader investment strategy in utility-scale storage assets.”
As GPC scaled its energy storage portfolio, the team encountered a major hurdle: traditional modelling methods couldn’t handle the complexity or specificity of BESS projects.
“At GPC, we have traditionally relied on industry-standard energy and price curves to assess the financial performance of our BESS projects,” said Thomas. “While these benchmarks are essential, they often proved restrictive—particularly for bespoke project types such as co-located assets or projects with specific technical constraints.”
This led to unreliable modelling and slower investment decisions.
“In many cases, we were required to adapt these generic curves using a ‘best guess’ approach, which introduced uncertainty and reduced the accuracy of our modelling,” he said. “We recognised the need for a more flexible and adaptable modelling framework—one that could be tailored to the unique characteristics of each project and allow for the inclusion of custom scenarios.”
With eight years of experience in battery storage, Thomas had explored multiple avenues for modelling battery projects including other software platforms.
“I have worked in the BESS industry for over eight years, with energy storage modelling forming a core part of both my professional career and academic studies,” he said.
“During this time, I have not encountered a BESS modelling tool as effective as Gridcog.”
“While several platforms cater well to the mature US market, none come close to Gridcog’s capabilities for utility-scale BESS modelling in Europe,” Thomas said. “The platform combines an intuitive, user-friendly interface with the ability to conduct sophisticated modelling and detailed analysis.”
Gridcog’s value lies in the blend of technical depth and usability—something that quickly improved how GPC evaluates both standalone and co-located BESS projects.
“The strength of Gridcog lies in its ability to combine simplicity of use with highly detailed modelling capabilities,” said Thomas. “I can easily adjust variables—such as ancillary service acceptance rates—within the simulation, allowing us to reflect broader market trends.”
He added: “The platform also enables us to fine-tune individual energy markets, making it possible to apply bespoke scenarios based on insights from external sources.”
Gridcog also strengthened internal and external communication. “This intuitive functionality improves communication with project stakeholders, as we can clearly explain the assumptions behind each model and demonstrate their impact on financial performance.”
Gridcog is now a core part of the BESS team’s daily workflow.
“I would say that we use the software on a daily basis with 5 team member[s] that are confident using the platform,” Thomas shared.
“I believe once we build out our BESS business, we will increase our efficiency constantly with Gridcog.”
Gridcog’s detailed BESS modelling capabilities have helped GPC avoid costly mistakes and seize new opportunities—especially in co-located energy systems.
“Gridcog has enabled us to make informed investment decisions on projects that would have been extremely challenging to evaluate using traditional methods,” said Thomas.
“In one case, while the model revealed the project was not investment-worthy, we avoided unnecessary expenditure and time that would otherwise have been spent on in-depth analysis or engaging external consultants.”
Gridcog also enabled GPC to unlock new value. “Using Gridcog, we were able to rapidly analyse the business case for storage integration under specific PPA conditions,” he said. “What had been an area of prolonged uncertainty was resolved with clarity.”
Beyond the platform, Thomas highlighted the strong relationship with Gridcog’s support team.
“Gridcog’s team is superb! I cannot speak highly of them enough," Thomas said. "Any time we have questions or difficulties implementing our specific use cases in the tool, they react almost immediately and provide detailed explanations to how they did it.”
Gridcog’s universal markets module has proven very useful for GPC, “Gridcog also quickly adapted the tool for the Polish market for GPC such that we could model projects with wholesale markets and ancillary services.”
With plans to grow its energy storage footprint, GPC sees Gridcog as a key part of its future investment strategy.
“We are excited to expand our BESS business as we look to enter new markets in the coming months – it is, in general, a very exciting time for the BESS industry,” Thomas said. “In terms of Gridcog, we are excited to learn that Gridcog is looking to add advanced asset-level PPA functionality to the tool and we are looking forward to using Gridcog in other markets such as Spain and Italy too.”
GoldenPeaks Capital is proving how flexible energy modelling can unlock value and mitigate risk in utility-scale battery energy storage. Gridcog gives Thomas and his team the tools to act quickly, model accurately, and confidently drive the BESS business forward in key European markets. We’re excited to see the GPC team continue to grow their battery portfolio across Europe!
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