UK’s National Grid calls for 200MW of storage

Renewables International

To compensate for fluctuations on the grid, the British are to start installing grid-attached storage facilities.

National Grid has announced that the rising share of renewable electricity in the UK already requires battery support.

A recent study by Clean Horizon investigated more than 15 project developers and distribution grid operators in the UK to better understand the challenges that the development of storage projects face.

More than half of those surveyed believe that frequency support is a good way of financing storage facilities.  Only 16 percent of the investors are looking at midsize capacities that are interesting for the commercial sector and industry.

At present, the market therefore mainly consists of large facilities and household systems. These two segments are, however, well developed in the UK.

Interestingly, the UK has a target of 35 percent renewable electricity by 2020, whereas Germany already had 20 percent wind and solar power collectively in 2015 – and yet, the Germans have not yet seen a need to call for battery storage aside from some pilot projects to test options.

One major difference, however, is that Germany’s interconnections with other countries is equal to around 20 percent of peak demand, whereas the UK has far less than 10 percent (four gigawatts, compared to peak demand in the 50s). The British may therefore face a tight situation before the Germans do.

This article was originally published on Renewables International. Re-produced with permission.