Great Britain’s demand for electricity could be met largely (or even wholly) by wind and solar energy supported by large-scale storage at a cost that compares favourably with the costs of low-carbon alternatives, which are not well suited to complementing intermittent wind and solar energy and variable demand.
The report, ‘Large-scale electricity storage’, published today, examines a wide variety of ways to store surplus wind and solar generated electricity - including green hydrogen, advanced compressed air energy storage (ACAES), ammonia, and heat - which will be needed when Great Britain’s supply is dominated by volatile wind and solar power.
In 2050 Great Britain’s demand for electricity could be met by wind and solar energy supported by large-scale storage. The cost of complementing direct wind and solar supply with storage compares very favourably with the cost of low-carbon alternatives. Further, storage has the potential to provide greater energy security.
It draws on studies from around the world but is focussed on the need for large-scale electrical energy storage in Great Britaina (GB) and how, and at what cost, storage needs might best be met. In 2050 Great Britain’s demand for electricity could be met by wind and solar energy supported by large-scale storage.
Studies of period of a few years, or even one or two decades, can seriously underestimate the need for storage. The long-term variability of wind creates a need to store tens of TWhs for many years. The need to curtail wind and solar power in GB is minimised for a wind / solar mix around 80 / 20.
No matter how much generating capacity is installed, there will be times when wind and solar cannot meet all demand, and large-scale storage will be needed. Historical weather records indicate that it will be necessary to store large amounts of energy (some 1000 times that provided by pumped hydro) for many years.