Why are we legislating electricity storage?

Why are we legislating? Electricity storage covers a range of technologies that store low carbon energy for when it is needed, for example in batteries on the wall of your home or business, or in facilities that pump water to higher reservoirs when electricity is abundant, and let it flow back down through a turbine when it is scarce.

What is long duration electricity storage (LDEs)?

Long Duration Electricity Storage (LDES) technologies contribute to decarbonising and making our energy system more resilient by storing electricity and releasing it when needed. LDES can also help reduce costs for consumers through reducing their bills and by avoiding the need for expensive electricity grid upgrades.

How can electricity be stored?

Electricity can be stored in a variety of ways, including in batteries, by compressing air, by making hydrogen using electrolysers, or as heat. Storing hydrogen in solution-mined salt caverns will be the best way to meet the long-term storage need as it has the lowest cost per unit of energy storage capacity.

Could energy storage save £10 billion a year?

Flexibility from technologies such as electricity storage could save up to £10 billion per year by 2050 by reducing the amount of generation and network needed to decarbonise and create 24,000 jobs. Why are we legislating?

What electricity storage will be needed?

What electricity storage will be needed, and what are the alternatives? Electricity can be stored in a variety of ways, including in batteries, by compressing air, by making hydrogen using electrolysers, or as heat.

Should energy be stored for years 29 to 31?

In order to use storage to fill the deficits in years 29 to 31, it would be necessary to store energy for decades. Studies of shorter periods seriously underestimate the need for storage. Contingency is included in the modelling to allow for variations not seen in this period.