Renewables policy in the UK is in a state of flux, to say the least. PV Tech Storage’s Andy Colthorpe spoke to UK solar industry veteran Ray Noble about how and why this may be the perfect time for storage to shine in British households.

The use of energy storage to increase renewables integration and provide stability to the grid requires the removal of regulatory barriers, rather than increased direct funding, according to one expert on the German market.

It is sometimes said that as of today there is no business case which delivers economic viability for decentralised residential battery storage systems owned by private end customers- without subsidy programmes- or they propose other solutions which offer higher benefits. Despite the discussion, the market already offers a variety of storage solutions which seem to be well accepted by the end-customer. Volker Wachenfeld of SMA explains the contrast.

The UK’s minister for energy has said that her government is not planning any framework of incentives for energy storage, but said nonetheless that public funds can help “bridge the gap” between ideas and commercialisation.

A UK auction held to provide the nation with energy security, has failed to deliver the boost to energy storage that a top government minister had hinted would be the case, according to a number of commentators and industry figures.

In the second part of his exploration of the areas of the world taking a lead in supporting the deployment of storage, Andy Colthorpe looks at Germany, Japan and Puerto Rico.

Putting value on energy storage in the UK capacity markets could help pay for deploying the technology more widely, according to the country’s secretary of state for energy and climate change.

The solar industry should be wary of thinking that there will be a support mechanism-fuelled “gold rush” on energy storage in the UK, according to the director of the Electricity Storage Network (ESN).

Representatives of battery and energy storage companies including AES Corporation and FIAMM believe the priority for the nascent energy storage industry should be to standardise technologies, along with developing a regulatory framework that recognises the value of storage.