Energy Storage: Unlocking Renewable Power's Full Potential

The global transition to net-zero is now well underway. Storage will play an important role in the global transition by facilitating and enabling the harvesting of renewable wind and solar. Specifically, storage can assist with stabilising the power grid and accommodating the matching of weather-dependent renewable production with the variable patterns of demand.

There is currently 670 MW of short duration installed, with an approximate investment of €4.4-5.6 billion needed in storage by 2030. This requirement is set to increase as the transition involving electrification progresses to net-zero emissions by 2050.

Key takeaways

• Storage facilities can come to market by way of stacking revenues from the organised energy, capacity, and system services markets. There is a supportive policy framework in the EU (notably in the recent market design adopted by the European Commission) and the Government of Ireland is working on a dedicated policy framework.
• The market most suitable to short duration ‘power battery’ storage plants is now largely saturated: most of the facilities now in service have come to market on foot of contracts or tariffs awarded by the Transmission System Operator’s DS3 procurement programme.
• Opportunity next exists for longer duration storage facilities which can contribute to management of grid constraints, curtailment, oversupply, and security-of-supply applications and recently contracts have been awarded in rounds of the forward capacity market. Nonetheless, there is uncertainty over whether a viable route-to-market exists for such facilities, although notable initiatives are underway by both the Transmission and Distribution System Operators.
• While there are well known challenges with global supply chains, US re-shoring of manufacturing and domestic issues on planning and grid access, Storage facilities can also co-locate with other facilities and make better utilisation of infrastructure.