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.
“In light of the huge economic damage the recent energy crisis has caused, it is distressing to see that the Government lacks a clear plan for energy supply risks and indeed is still deliberating over investment in energy storage to prevent future crises.” Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Chair of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee.
Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Chair of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee. A House of Lords committee has warned the Government that it must act fast to ensure long-duration energy storage technologies can scale up in time to play a vital role in decarbonising the electricity system and ensuring energy security by 2035.
Government will ensure that the legal and institutional framework exists which can promote investment and competition and have the best chance of cost-effectively delivering a net zero energy system which is resilient and maintains security of supply.
A coordinated effort is needed to unlock investment in long-duration energy storage and to ensure a strategic reserve of storage is delivered both to achieve Net Zero and to insulate the UK from future energy supply shocks such as the 2021–22 energy crisis.
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.