‘Rapid scale-up of battery storage is key’ to preventing costly waste of wind energy in the UK

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email
Titan wind farm in South Dakota, US, where UK-headquartered BP has already piloted the use of energy storage to reduce wind curtailment during times when production outstrips demand from the grid. Image: BP.

An increase of 20GWh of battery storage could reduce the amount of wasted wind power in Great Britain by 50%, according to new analysis from consultancy LCP.

Wind curtailments between Scotland and England are expected to cost consumers £1 billion (US$1.36 billion) per year by 2025, a figure that will continue to grow as the nation works towards the UK government’s 40MW by 2030 target. This figure highlights how “rapidly scaling up battery storage capacity is key” LCP said.

GB curtailed wind power on 75% of days in 2020, according to the consultancy, with over 3.6TWh of wind power being turned off in total, a figure mainly resulting from network constraints.

This analysis comes as LCP releases a new report into the investment opportunities of battery storage, which looked at a variety of different battery trading strategies and markets.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

To read the full version of this story visit Current±.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will be hosting the Energy Storage Summit 2021 in an exciting new format on 23-24 February and again on 3-4 March. See the website for more details.

3 November 2026
Málaga, Spain
Understanding technology and supplier selection for Europe’s utility-scale PV market in 2027. PV ModuleTech Europe 2026 is a two-day conference that tackles these challenges directly, with an agenda that addresses all aspects of PV module, inverter and battery supplier selection; product availability, technology offerings, supply chain traceability, quality assurance, factory auditing, system reliability, and supplier bankability.

Read Next

Premium
October 30, 2026
How should BESS owner-operators be thinking about augmentation of their projects further down the line?
October 29, 2026
Scatec, the European Investment Bank (EIB), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have signed an investment agreement for Dandara solar-plus-storage project in Egypt.
October 28, 2026
India’s storage market is expanding, but project delivery depends on predictable procurement, domestic manufacturing and revenue models that support investment.
October 27, 2026
India has 5.3GWh of operational battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity, with a further 185GWh of projects under development, according to Prashant Bhamu, deputy director of integrated resources planning at the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), part of the Ministry of Power.
October 27, 2026
Vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) startup Delectrik Systems has been awarded a 20MW/120MWh project in Gujarat, India.