Nearly 15GW of battery storage in UK’s project development pipeline

April 20, 2021
LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
Projects larger than 30MW are increasingly dominating market share. Image: Solar Media Market Research.

The UK reached a gigawatt of battery storage deployments in the second quarter of 2020 and the industry has 14.9GW in its development pipeline including 1.8GW of ready-to-build projects and 6.9GW with planning approvals in place.

Mollie McCorkindale, an analyst at Solar Media Market Research writes in an exclusive blog for our sister site Solar Power Portal today that although deployment during 2020 was lower than expected due to construction delays, the milestone 1GW mark was surpassed and total capacity is now close to 1.3GW.

The UK market saw a rush of projects built as deployment began in earnest from 2017, kick started by the transmission operator National Grid’s 200MW auction for the enhanced frequency response ancillary service that it introduced in 2016. After a peak in 2018 and a slowdown in 2019 as the market moved increasingly towards merchant revenue business models, the next 12-18 months could see that 1.8GW of ready-to-build projects commissioned.

Mollie’s blog offers a taster of a webinar Solar Media Market Research is hosting on Thursday 22 April 2021 to discuss industry trends in more detail. It is based on findings from our in-house experts’ ‘UK battery storage project database report’ and the webinar will cover aspects of the market such as the growing average size of projects and the rise of projects co-located with renewable generation.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

Not ready to commit yet?
  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Read Next

November 14, 2025
BESS and flexible generation provider Statera Energy has secured £235 million (US$309 million) in debt financing for its 680MW/1,360MWh Carrington BESS project in Manchester, UK.
November 12, 2025
Although vertically integrated ESS-cell suppliers retain more control over their supply chain, system integrators’ flexibility may help them in the medium-term, writes Solar Media Market Research analyst Charlotte Gisbourne.
Premium
November 7, 2025
UK BESS projects totalling nearly 4GWh awarded planning consent in October, there is now nearly 22GWh under construction.
November 7, 2025
Trina Storage has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Pacific Green Energy Group to supply up to 5GWh of battery energy storage systems between 2026 and 2028.
November 4, 2025
UK power generator Drax is set to acquire three BESS projects from York-based developer Apatura, with a combined capacity of 260MW.