Alternative Energy | Storage
The latest capacity market auction has generated some exciting news. While that may sound like an oxymoron, in this case it is justified as it marks a milestone for new storage technology.
The capacity market is designed to ensure that electricity is available during times of high demand – for example during the winter months.
It allows the government to buy capacity in advance, making sure we have enough electricity infrastructure to cope with peaks in demand.
The latest capacity market auction has generated some exciting news. While that may sound like an oxymoron, in this case it is justified as it marks a milestone for new storage technology.
The capacity market is designed to ensure that electricity is available during times of high demand – for example during the winter months.
It allows the government to buy capacity in advance, making sure we have enough electricity infrastructure to cope with peaks in demand.
The capacity market has its flaws and has been criticised because of the number of diesel powered projects bidding for contracts.
But December’s auction resulted in the award of the first ever contracts to battery storage projects, showing that energy storage technology is breaking into the mainstream.
So why has storage become such an important issue?
As traditional thermal generation plants – such as high carbon coal-powered stations – come off the grid, they are being replaced by renewable technologies including solar photovoltaic and onshore and offshore wind farms.
Renewables uncertainty
While this is good for the government’s aim of achieving a 34% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 (based on 1990 levels), the intermittent capacity of these renewables means that a level of uncertainty has been introduced into the National Grid.
And with renewable generation accounting for nearly a quarter of the UK’s electricity supply in 2015, storing energy when demand is low so it can be released at peak times would provide some stability.
The government recognises that storage has a key part to play in the transition to a low-carbon economy. In November it published a consultation document on the development of a smarter energy system, which included a focus on removing barriers to storage.
Progress is already happening – a recently published report from the Renewable Energy Association (REA) shows that the UK has at least 453MW of new, largely battery based storage capacity planned or in development.
“Storage, in the context of renewables, becomes really interesting because the technology is fascinating,” says UK Power Networks (UKPN) low carbon technology and customer engagement manager Adriana Laguna.
