Long Duration Electricity Storage investment support scheme will boost investor confidence and unlock billions in funding for vital projects. The UK is a step closer to energy independence as the government launches a new scheme to help build energy storage infrastructure.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) has reconfirmed its intention to introduce financial support for long-duration energy storage (LDES) projects by way of a cap and floor mechanism, following consultation at the start of 2024.
Operating Limitations: Energy storage resources may be subject to operational constraints that do not affect traditional generation projects. For example, certain battery technologies will degrade more quickly if the state of charge is not actively managed within a certain range.
Principally, this means that a PTC-electing eligible energy production facility (such as a solar facility now eligible to elect to use the PTC after the IRA) may be paired with an energy storage facility without impacting the ability to claim an ITC for the storage facility.
Construction risks: It is common practice to see multiple equipment supply, construction, and installation contracts rather than one turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract for energy storage projects.
For standalone energy storage contracts, these are typically structured with a fixed monthly capacity payment plus some variable cost per megawatt hour (MWh) of throughput. For a combined renewables-plus-storage project, it may be structured with an energy-only price in lieu of a fixed monthly capacity payment.