'Urgent rethink' on energy storage key to cutting power bills
3 Mar 2016
A new Carbon Trust report has revealed that the introduction of more efficient energy storage systems could substantally cut electricity costs in the UK.
The study, which was backed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), found that energy storage had the potential to save £2.5bn annually by 2030, or an average £50 per household, based on calculations of different future energy system scenarios.
However, it also highlights several barriers to energy storage solutions that have resulted in market failure, limiting their wide-scale deployment.
“Energy storage has long been seen as a panacea for a low carbon energy sector in the UK,” said Andrew Lever, director of innovation at the Carbon Trust.
“But storage turns conventional knowledge on its head as it doesn’t fit neatly into existing regulatory frameworks, which have been designed around an energy system where power is supplied to consumers from large centralised power stations."
While many technologies appear promising, he said these were likely to face challenges in deployment because of an outdated market framework.
“An urgent rethink is needed so we can address and overcome the broken value chain of energy storage, which is essential if Britain is to provide low carbon energy at the lowest cost to the consumer,” he said.
A key benefit provided by energy storage is the absorption of ‘wrong time’ energy, which is later released to meet demand, balancing the influx of intermittent low-carbon technologies onto the grid, such as renewable power.
But despite the technological readiness and the significant benefits of energy storage, the split of these across network stakeholders would make it difficult for a single one to develop a business case, said the Carbon Trust and Imperial College London, which jointly compiled the report over a year.
Overcoming these obstacles will require coordinated action across policymakers, regulators and industry to realise available benefits, the report said.
The International Energy Agency also recently highlighted the benefits of balancing the grid as a core strategy for ensuring the global electricity market was equipped to power a low-carbon world.
In its recent report on building future electricity markets, it said a comprehensive framework was required that encouraged low-carbon investments and operational efficiency, while keeping security of supply as a top priority.
“Efficient markets unlock flexibility to deal with renewables’ variability, like when and where the wind does not blow or the sun does not shine – or when and where wind and solar generation is abundant – as well as weather forecasting errors and network congestion,” the report said.
