Battery energy storage systems (BESSs) use batteries, for example lithium-ion batteries, to store electricity at times when supply is higher than demand. They can then later release electricity when it is needed. BESSs are therefore important for “the replacement of fossil fuels with renewable energy”.
Why are we legislating? Electricity storage covers a range of technologies that store low carbon energy for when it is needed, for example in batteries on the wall of your home or business, or in facilities that pump water to higher reservoirs when electricity is abundant, and let it flow back down through a turbine when it is scarce.
The Committee’s report on long-duration energy storage concludes that the Government must act fast to ensure that energy storage technologies can scale up in time to play a vital role in decarbonising the electricity system and ensuring energy security by 2035. Long-duration energy storage can reduce curtailment of renewables and grid congestion.
Therefore, the government has said a decarbonised power system will need to be supported by technologies that can respond to fluctuations in supply and demand, including energy storage. The government expects demand for grid energy storage to rise to 10 gigawatt hours (GWh) by 2030 and 20 GWh by 2035.
These include tripling global renewable energy capacity, doubling the pace of energy efficiency improvements and transitioning away from fossil fuels. This special report brings together the latest data and information on batteries from around the world, including recent market developments and technological advances.
A strategic reserve of electricity storage is a critical investment to secure the UK’s energy supply against future shocks, but the Government is still equivocating over whether it is necessary to invest in one. Since 2023, the Government has had a Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.