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REA FOCUS FEATURE


| Solar Photovoltaics


Storage and solar technologies could be the solution to some of the biggest problems facing the UK’s energy system


A future is bright (and flexible) with storage and solar


H


ere at the REA we are excited about energy storage, and even more so when combined with solar power and other renewables.


Together the technologies can help address some of the biggest problems facing the UK’s energy system, and enable renewables to meet their potential as the number one source of power in the country. Energy storage allows the UK to balance


out variable power generation and avoid costly reinforcement of the electricity grid, two issues that could be a serious brake to renewables.


Domestic and business users can benefit from increased self-consumption and therefore keep energy bills down. But what is really exciting is when renewables, including


54 REview Renewable Energy View 2015


solar photovoltaics (PV), are combined with energy storage.


Such a combination offers lots of advantages, including stable, balanced energy supplies that reduce strain on the network and therefore lower balancing system charges for generators and suppliers, and also help regulate frequency and voltage rises on the network.


In a DECC-funded pilot project, UK Power


Networks recently installed a 5MW battery system in the Midlands as an alternative to upgrading the overhead line, which would have otherwise been necessary. Costs have reduced by around 25 per cent since the battery was first installed, meaning that this could be a cheaper way of strengthening the grid within the next few years.


Reduced costs


Costs of domestic systems have reduced dramatically in the past two years as module manufacturers start to package storage units alongside PV panels. Anecdotally, this has seen a 75 per cent reduction in costs in the space of two years, one reason why the storage industry has been compared to the solar PV industry 15 years ago. Germany has introduced a form of upfront support for storage and the market is developing fast there, while some US states have required their grid operators to install large amounts of storage capacity. Many have seen the benefits and decided to go much further than required to by the legislation. In the UK, the government unfortunately still positions energy storage in the ‘research


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