Lack of Grid-Level Battery Storage Holding Back Green Investment

Based on expert analysis, electricity demand could be reduced by an estimated 17.5% by investing £21 billion in a 60GW battery array, which can provide 10GWh of energy for a six-hour period, saving almost 15 million tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. To give one comparison, Hinkley C will generate 7% of the UK’s electricity at a cost of £26 billion.

However, while there has been a commitment to nuclear, it remains unclear who needs to make the investment in battery storage, which is necessary to unleash the full power of the oftenpromised ‘green revolution’.

Commenting on a whitepaper available on the environmental best-practice website, Betterworld.Solutions (bit.ly/BetterArray) Chris said: “Wind and solar are unpredictable generation, and charging electric vehicles cannot come directly from the grid at peak demand times, so battery arrays are essential for a green electricity future.”

Meanwhile, his own company, AESSEAL, is not allowed to export excess solar energy to the Grid in Derby. Other Betterworld members report that in large parts of the UK there is a restriction on connecting green energy to the Grid; in many cases, the restrictions apply until 2030.

While AESSEAL says that they will be pushing ahead with green investments, including solar energy, despite the obstacles, Chris is concerned that other businesses wishing to invest in solar energy will be deterred.

He added: “Small businesses can and would deploy their capital more readily if they could connect a battery array to the Grid and benefit financially from the ability to buy and store energy at a sufficiently lower cost than the price it could be sold for at peak times.