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

January 14, 2021
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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.

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