Why?

Battery storage technology or BESS is a major component to enable the UK homes and businesses to be powered by green energy, even when the sun isn’t shining, or the wind has stopped blowing.

The UK has the largest installed capacity of offshore wind in the world, but this capacity is variable and not always available when we require it. Sometimes it is available, and we don’t require the energy, this is where battery storage comes in to its own. 

Engineers at National Grid must match supply (generation) with demand (capacity or load) and managing these daily peaks and troughs becomes more challenging when the target is to achieve net zero carbon production by reducing the use of fossil fuels.

The old gas, coal and oil-fired power stations have traditionally been used to manage these peaks and troughs, but battery energy storage facilities can replace a selection of these power generators over time. The more BESS we have the more renewable energy generation we can rely on.

In the UK the government calculates those technologies such as battery storage systems - supporting the integration of more lowcarbon power, heat and transport technologies - could save the UK energy system up to £40 billion by 2050, ultimately reducing people’s energy bills. This will be a welcome relief to all currently paying very high energy prices.