A representative of National Grid, the UK’s transmission system operator (TSO), has said that energy storage will be “integral” to the network’s flexibility strategy – while urging developers not to rely solely on early frequency regulation contracts.

The UK’s large-scale battery storage installations have reached 100MW of capacity, made up of around 50 individual sites larger than 250kW. Lauren Cook of Solar Media’s Market Research team discusses how this point has been arrived at and what we might expect to see coming next.

News in brief from around the world of energy storage.

Following an announcement earlier this month that Alfen will build the Czech Republic’s first large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS), the Dutch grid-scale system integrator has just completed a megawatt-scale project in Belgium.

News in brief from the week in energy storage around the world.

Swiss utility and power distribution company EKZ (Elektrizitätswerke des Kantons Zürich) is building a grid-balancing and renewables integrating 18MW / 7.5MWh energy storage system and has appointed NEC Energy Solutions to execute the project.

The UK’s main electricity transmission network operator (TNO) National Grid has published a new consultation on its system needs and product strategy which paves the way for a number of new services tenders to be made available from next year.

Multinational energy company Engie Group has contracted NEC Energy Solutions and NEC Chile to provide a 2MW / 2MWh energy storage system to its subsidiary Engie Energia Chile in Latin America.

A New Zealand network operator will install a grid-scale battery from S&C Electric as part of a pilot programme.

The utility has integrated battery energy storage systems into California’s electricity market CAISO for the first time.