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

January 14, 2021
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.

Read Next

January 6, 2026
It’s our first week back to normal service so here’s a roundup of the past few weeks of BESS action in Europe, with projects moving forward in Romania, Denmark, UK, France, Spain, Albania, Germany and Austria.
January 6, 2026
Technology provider Dalian Rongke Power (Rongke Power) and infrastructure developer China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) have brought online the world’s first gigawatt-hour-scale flow battery energy storage project.
Premium
January 5, 2026
IPP Zelestra and utility EDP’s recent PPA deal for a solar-plus-storage project in Spain was the first of its kind in Europe and ‘moves the market forward’, a Zelestra executive told Energy-Storage.news.
December 31, 2025
We need to think more deeply about thermal energy storage as a pathway to industrial decarbonisation and managing electricity costs, writes Pasquale Romano, CEO of Redoxblox.
December 19, 2025
The Australian government has expanded the nationwide Cheaper Home Batteries Program, which has seen rapid uptake from homeowners.