The potential for storage to help stabilise the grid has finally been recognised in the UK, where battery projects took all of the 200MW on offer in a recent frequency response tender. David Pickup looks at the evolving role of storage in the future grid and how further policy support can help it flourish.
Australia will launch a new large-scale energy storage funding round, the country’s prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has revealed.
The cost of lithium-ion batteries for energy storage declined 65% in five years between 2010 and 2015, while battery storage’s use for electricity could hit 250GW by 2030, from just 1GW today, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
Energy storage should be properly valued and supported at federal level in the United States, according to a government document analysing and evaluating energy policy released by officials of the outgoing Obama administration.
The north-eastern US state of Massachusetts will introduce a procurement target for energy storage resources, with the state’s department of energy resources (DOER) collecting views from stakeholders.
The number of battery storage projects to have won 15-year contracts in the latest Capacity Market auction is a sign of “considerable confidence” in the technology, according to the director of the Electricity Storage Network.
The UK’s government department for business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) and its regulator, Ofgem, have jointly launched a Call for Evidence on System Flexibility for the country’s power networks, putting storage at the forefront. Anthony Price, head of trade group the Electricity Storage Network spoke to Energy-Storage.News about the document, which gives stakeholders until January to respond.
A ‘call for evidence’ from the UK government on how to reform the energy sector, calling for information and commentary by industry and other stakeholders, has been welcomed by the country’s Electricity Storage Network trade association.
The UK government and regulator Ofgem have jointly launched the long-awaited call for evidence on the future of the country’s energy system, seeking views on the development of a smarter, more flexible and user-friendly network.
Energy storage in the US is being propelled forward by falling costs and increasingly favourable markets and policy. But for the full value of storage to be realised, numerous regulatory and fiscal barriers must still be surmounted, writes Matt Roberts.
