The progress of the battery storage industry in the UK is continuing, with reports suggesting that the pipeline of battery storage projects in the UK has increased by two-thirds in capacity over the last year. The EnergyPulse Energy Storage report by RenewableUK indicates that the total pipeline of battery projects has increased from 57.1GW to 95.6GW in the last year, representing an increase of over 67%.

The total pipeline of projects includes those already operational, under construction or secured consent and others in the planning stage. Based on data from RenewableUK, over 30GW of capacity has received consent, and an additional 30GW is in the development phase but is yet to be submitted for planning permission. 

The size of individual battery storage projects has continued increasing over the last few years. RenewableUK states that the average project capacity submitted for planning approval has increased from 27MW in 2019 to 80MW, equating to a 196% increase. This capacity rise comes at a time when the battery storage market has prioritised technological advances in an attempt to play a critical role in the UK’s energy transition, providing storage for intermittent supplies of energy from renewables. Further efforts are needed to strengthen the UK Government’s battery strategy and ensure the industry can achieve its expectations.

The battery strategy released at the end of last year states that the UK will require approximately 6GWh of grid storage capacity by 2040 to satisfy the demand level. Grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) are viewed by the Government to be a vital part of battery technology, and RenewableUK believes battery storage will play a critical role in the UK’s energy transition.

Barnaby Wharton, director of future electricity systems at RenewableUK, explained that batteries play a vital role in ensuring electricity supply continues to meet demand. Wharton admits that while battery projects have increased, the industry still has a way to 55GW of short-term flexibility the Government stated we require by 2035. Wharton believes the UK can accelerate this uptake by speeding up the consenting and connecting vital energy storage projects to the grid.

The latest report indicates that, by building more battery projects along with onshore wind and solar, the electricity system costs will be reduced by sharing land and grid connections, which will benefit billpayers. 

By strengthening the planning system and introducing financial support measures to encourage more battery projects to be based at sites where clean electricity is generated, we can lower the building and operational costs of batteries considerably.

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