According to analysis by Rystad Energy, the UK’s battery storage market is projected to experience exponential growth, with utility-scale battery systems reaching 24 GW capacity by 2030.
This expansion will attract up to $20 billion in investments and generate enough combined energy reserves to power 18 million homes for a year.
As a result, the UK will account for nearly 9% of global capacity installations, ranking fourth behind China, the US and Germany.
The need for reliable energy storage solutions has increased due to the intermittency of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, and the UK government has set ambitious targets of 30 GW of capacity by 2030. While battery energy storage systems currently account for only 2.1 GW of the total installed energy storage capacity of 4.7 GW, the lifting of size restrictions on project planning will enable some single projects to exceed 1 GW.
“Large-scale battery developments will soon be the norm in the UK, solving the problem of balancing short-term power demand with the intermittency of wind and solar generation. And this could just be the start. Further growth could soon be on the way if the government introduces additional incentives to spur investments.” says Pratheeksha R, renewable energy analyst, Rystad Energy.
The most prominent company in the UK’s BESS project pipeline is Alcemi, with 3.3 GW of capacity in the pipeline. Zenobe, a UK-based company, takes second place in the UK’s BESS project pipeline with over 1 GW of projects under different stages of development. Intergen, based in Edinburgh, is also in the top five thanks to its two large-scale BESS projects totaling 820 MW, including the Gateway project that will begin construction later this year. The project secured a 15-year contract to deliver power under the capacity market auction held last year.
BESS can play an essential role in the power grid, including frequency regulation, voltage support and power reserve, while enhancing grid stability and reliability. To encourage developments, the National Grid opened five revenue streams on which BESS project investors can capitalize. Choosing the right revenue stream can deliver significant revenues to battery operators. For instance, the dynamic containment services for grid stability and the capacity market auction schemes are driving the battery energy storage deployment. However, meeting the technical requirements to enter such schemes can be challenging, says the analysis.
