The prospects for a green COVID-19 recovery are getting better with every passing day in the EU, and it seems that the UK is not about to be left behind in the dust. Last week the UK government announced one simple rule change that will speed the construction of large scale energy storage facilities for wind and solar power in England and Wales. It’s just one rule, but the difference is significant because it expands the field of battery technologies to include liquid air and other bulk systems.
If all goes according to plan, the rule change will enable the UK to build more than 100 bulk, long duration energy storage systems in short order, tripling the number currently operating in England and Wales.
High capacity and long duration are essential for the sparkling green grid of the future, and that means new technologies must be shepherded on through. Today’s lithium-ion batteries perform well enough, but they only discharge for a few hours. Meanwhile, grid planners are asking for a full day, or even multiple days, in order to introduce more wind and solar.
Long duration battery technology already exists, but speeding up construction is the key factor considering the urgent need for swift action on climate change and the need to get people back to work on the heels of the COVID-19 outbreak.
In order to get that done, the UK government is lifting restrictions on large-scale batteries of more than 50 megawatts in England and 350 megawatts in Wales.
It wasn’t actually all that simple. The planning process involved months of stakeholder meetings and input beginning last October in addition to procedures in Parliament earlier this month, which amended the Planning Act of 2008 and the Electricity Act of 1989.
The end result is that local planning authorities will get to decide on bulk energy storage projects, instead of having blanket restrictions imposed under rules for Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects in England and Wales.
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