Two reports released within days of one another have highlighted the increasing value of the energy storage market as a necessary tandem to a low-carbon society, with Bloomberg New Energy Finance predicting the market will grow to attract $1.2 trillion in investment and boast 942 gigawatts (GW) by 2040, while in the UK the current pipeline already sits at an impressive 6,874 megawatts (MW).
It is of little surprise that the energy storage market around the globe has expanded so quickly, given the explosive growth of intermittent renewable energy sources like solar and wind. Simply put, energy storage evens out what is otherwise intermittent electricity generation, meaning that solar can continue to provide electricity at night and wind can continue to provide electricity when the winds are still.
This is vitally apparent in the United Kingdom which, according to a report published by renewable energy trade body RenewableUK and the country’s Solar Trade Association, has all but exploded in size over the past seven years. Specifically, the report shows that planning applications in the UK have soared from 2 MW in 2012 to 6,874 MW in 2018.
The news of the UK’s 6.9 GW energy storage pipeline was part of an announcement which will see RenewableUK launch a new database of energy storage projects across the UK, with comprehensive information on nearly 400 UK projects. The database reveals that the average capacity of applications for new battery storage projects in the UK has increased from 10 MW in 2016 to 27 MW in 2018.
Currently, the UK boasts 3.3 GW of storage capacity and there is a further 5.4 GW that have already received planning consent — including 4.8 GW worth of battery storage.
“The energy sector is breaking new ground by making an unprecedented transition to a clean, flexible system which will power our country in the future,” said RenewableUK’s Executive Director Emma Pinchbeck. “Energy storage is already playing a key part in that, from small local projects to grid-scale schemes. We’re decentralising the way the power system works and, at our conference, we’ll hear how an increased share of wind, solar and storage on the grid could transform UK energy markets.”
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