Key priorities for the UK Government, Ofgem and the grid operator include the development of markets that incentivise further investment in all kinds of energy storage, said the Electricity Storage Network (ESN).
Markets should incentivise a range of short and long term storage technologies and encourage zero carbon storage solutions to take over from gas, said the ESN, in response to gas shortages and price hikes.
The ESN stated: “Our analysis shows there is a strong pipeline of further 6-8GW of storage projects in the development pipeline with planning permission and a grid connection agreement in place that could, under the right conditions, be built out over the coming years.”
The association has also proposed market changes alongside developing a “much smarter and more flexible electricity system” that can much match supply and demand more effectively.
The impact on households and businesses of the current high gas prices shows the importance of investing in technologies to store power as part of building a resilient, renewable power system that can wean us off fossil fuels, said the ESN.
In the past few years, companies have installed over 1GW of batteries on the UK’s electricity system, increasing storage capacity by a third and providing “crucial support at times of system stress”.
As well as helping to balance supply and demand of energy in the physical supply chain, energy storage also exerts an “important calming and confidence-building influence” within the energy markets.
This helps to reduce the volatility of market prices by giving confidence to those traders who are concerned with energy supply and dissuading the action of traders engaged in short term speculation.
This system benefit of energy storage seems to have been overlooked by policy makers and regulators, said the ESN.