Creating a cleaner, greener environment with battery energy storage systems

As global and national efforts to transition to net zero by 2050 intensify, one technology has emerged as critical to success: battery storage. Also known as battery energy storage systems (BESS), this technology has moved from the periphery of energy strategies to the centre, as recognition for the role it will play in decarbonising our power system grows.

Demand for the technology is high; in the UK alone, a record level 800 megawatt hours (MWh) of new utility energy storage capacity was added in 2022, which will be able to store enough energy to power 14,000 homes for a week. Currently, in the UK, there is 2.4 gigawatts (GW)/2.6 gigawatt hours (GWh) across 161 sites of operational energy storage, and a further 20.2GW approved in planning. And according to National Grid’s Future Energy Scenarios report, under ‘Leading the Way’, the UK will need around 20GW of battery storage and around 35GW to achieve net zero in 2050.So, how does battery storage work and why is it a crucial element to achieving net zero? Here we look at the advantages of BESS and their contribution to a greener future.

?

Building grid resilience with battery storage

The purpose of an electricity grid is to balance supply against demand across the network at any given location. Historically, fossil fuel and nuclear generation have been used to provide baseload power, ensuring a steady supply of electricity across the network. However, as commitment to decarbonising the grid increases and we see existing fossil fuel plants decommissioned and more renewables brought online, battery storage will be needed to guarantee that we have an uninterrupted energy supply and electricity prices are kept down.

Battery storage is crucial to solving the problem caused by the intermittent nature of wind and solar and to ensuring a future supply of clean, reliable and affordable electricity. The challenge with wind and solar is that on a cloudy day with no sunshine, or a day with no wind, there is a shortfall in energy production. Whilst on a very windy day there can be a huge surplus in production and the networks are often unable to transfer so much power which means wind turbines are curtailed by the grid operators. The use of batteries storage solves both of these problems.

Battery storage systems enable time of delivery flexibility which helps grid operators to balance supply and demand. By charging the batteries with renewable energy during times of peak production and / or when power is not needed, then electricity can be discharged when demand is high and renewable generation is low. This flexibility that BESS provides is critical to developing a decarbonised power grid that is reliable and resilient and which guarantees security of energy supply.

?

Store energy, save money

The problem of over production by wind farms on days when there are high winds currently comes at a cost and one that effective BESS could mitigate. National Grid recently made ‘constraint payments’ that ran to ￡82m in one month alone when it had to tell wind generators to curtail generation to avoid overloading the network. These costs are passed onto the consumer, with ￡806m added to consumer bills across 2020 and 2021. Battery storage facilities deployed at scale will allow excess energy to be stored and the flow of power into an electricity grid better managed to avoid expensive charges prevailing in the future.

By storing low-cost renewable energy there are also cost saving implications through increasing consumption of green energy during periods of peak demand. When demand is high electricity prices tend to increase, however by using stored renewable energy during these times, higher costs can be avoided. In fact the UK government estimates that sustainable, flexible technologies like battery storage have the potential to save the UK up to ￡40bn by 2050, and a knock-on effect of cutting costs for consumers.

A pathway to a greener future

Electrification of our economy is forging ahead, increasing demand for electricity at a rapid rate. If we take the transport sector alone, the Climate Change Committee recommends that to achieve net zero targets 100% of new vehicle sales should be electric vehicles by 2035. It also predicts that demand for electricity will increase 50% by 2035, which in turn will double by 2050.

So, as more renewable energy sources are introduced to meet current and future demand and our energy mix becomes cleaner and greener, the critical need for the scaled implementation of battery storage is clear. And the UK’s response is positive; with battery storage facility projects gathering momentum and more in the pipeline, the future looks bright for a carbon neutral 2050.?