{"id":666372,"date":"2025-05-01T22:19:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-01T19:19:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/is-the-uks-energy-storage-growing-fast-enough\/"},"modified":"2025-05-01T22:19:05","modified_gmt":"2025-05-01T19:19:05","slug":"is-the-uks-energy-storage-growing-fast-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-the-uks-energy-storage-growing-fast-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the UK&#8217;s energy storage growing fast enough?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_84 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a282a20700a3\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a282a20700a3\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-the-uks-energy-storage-growing-fast-enough\/#Why_is_storage_so_important\" >Why is storage so important?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-the-uks-energy-storage-growing-fast-enough\/#Options_and_opportunities\" >Options and opportunities<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/is-the-uks-energy-storage-growing-fast-enough\/#New_forms_of_storage\" >New forms of storage<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2024\/wind-turbine-1.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/wind-turbine-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2024\/wind-turbine-1.jpg\" alt=\"wind turbine\" title=\"Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain\" width=\"800\" height=\"530\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Britain&#8217;s <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ourworldindata.org\/grapher\/cumulative-installed-wind-energy-capacity-gigawatts?country=DEU~IND~ESP~ITA~AUS~JPN~GBR\" target=\"_blank\">booming<\/a> green energy generation has a costly side-effect: the national electricity system operator has had to <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/news.sky.com\/story\/britons-paying-hundreds-of-millions-to-turn-off-wind-turbines-as-network-cant-handle-the-power-they-make-on-the-windiest-days-12822156\" target=\"_blank\">compensate<\/a> wind turbine operators that could have produced more clean electricity than the grid could take.<\/p>\n<p>The cost of paying wind farms to temporarily switch off rose significantly <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ft.com\/content\/26765b45-ca67-495a-b82d-c2a435773280\" target=\"_blank\">in early 2025<\/a>, surpassing \u00a3250 million in the first two months of the year. This figure not only includes these &#8220;constraint payments&#8221; to wind farm operators, but also payments to gas power plants to switch on and meet demand in the south of England that could theoretically be met by wind energy.<\/p>\n<p>Wind power is often generated in remote areas like the Scottish Highlands, where there is low electricity demand. To transmit this power over long distances to areas of higher demand (mostly in the south of England) requires power lines, but these have transmission limits and there are not enough of them.<\/p>\n<p>Britain will only make effective use of its energy potential if grid-scale energy storage keeps pace with the expansion of new wind farms and other forms of intermittent renewable energy, such as solar.<\/p>\n<p>Large-scale battery systems, pumped hydro and other storage methods could capture the excess energy injected by wind farms on windy days and release it when needed. But are these energy storage options arriving quickly enough?<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                        <!-- TechX - News - In-article --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_is_storage_so_important\"><\/span>Why is storage so important?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Most British consumers will not see a significant change in how they use electricity with the introduction of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.neso.energy\/document\/346651\/download\" target=\"_blank\">planned<\/a> storage installations, other than fewer blips in power quality, such as flickering or dimming lights.<\/p>\n<p>You might spot these new energy storage facilities in rows of what look like shipping containers but are actually batteries. And the national grid (which serves England, Wales and Scotland; Northern Ireland has a separate electricity network) will be <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.neso.energy\/document\/346651\/download\" target=\"_blank\">more capable<\/a> of responding quickly to even minor variations in electricity supply and demand, meaning fewer headlines about curtailed wind farms.<\/p>\n<p>The UK government is <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/government\/publications\/clean-power-2030-action-plan\/clean-power-2030-action-plan-a-new-era-of-clean-electricity-main-report#shortduration-flexibility\" target=\"_blank\">aiming<\/a> to build up to 27 gigawatts of battery storage by 2030 (in 2023, battery capacity was estimated to be around <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.neso.energy\/document\/346651\/download\" target=\"_blank\">5 gigawatts<\/a>). There are <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/download-scripts-themes-apps\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"9\" title=\"Download Scripts &amp; Themes &amp; Apps\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">app<\/a>lications totaling 59 gigawatts of battery storage in <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.neso.energy\/document\/346651\/download\" target=\"_blank\">the connections queue for 2030<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Some of these are <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cornwall-insight.com\/press-and-media\/press-release\/battery-storage-connection-queue-double-the-grids-requirement-for-2030\/\" target=\"_blank\">speculative<\/a>\u2014introduced to secure connection slots and permissions, with the intention of selling the rights on. These connections will not necessarily be built, yet contribute to long delays in approvals.<\/p>\n<p>As a result, the energy regulator Ofgem has been working with network operators to reform the connections queue. This includes new rules and more coordination between grid operators and project developers, as well as incentives (such as lower connection charges) to encourage battery developers to ensure their output can be adjusted to accommodate network constraints when necessary.<\/p>\n<p>Having substantial grid-scale energy storage could help stabilize electricity prices, which might give households lower and less volatile bills. It would also reduce the need to fire up gas generators during supply lulls, lowering the influence of expensive imported gas on electricity prices.<\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Options_and_opportunities\"><\/span>Options and opportunities<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>Storing excess renewable energy involves a range of technologies. Short-duration storage options such as batteries can supply energy ranging from seconds to a few hours. Long-duration storage, such as pumped hydro, can supply energy for several hours, days or more.<\/p>\n<p>Pumped hydro is the oldest long-duration storage <a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/technology\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"4\" title=\"Technology\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">technology<\/a>. It involves storing vast amounts of energy by pumping water to a higher reservoir when electricity is plentiful, and releasing it to a lower reservoir through a turbine when needed. <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/news\/2023\/nov\/02\/beauty-of-infrastructure-electric-mountain-dinorwig-power-station-north-wales\" target=\"_blank\">Dinorwig<\/a> in north Wales and <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.visitcruachan.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\">Cruachan<\/a> in western Scotland are capable of storing 9 and 7 gigawatt-hours of energy, respectively.<\/p>\n<p>Major expansions are planned, such as the new pumped hydro storage scheme <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.coireglas.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Coire Glas<\/a> in Scotland. Expected to be completed around 2030\u201331, it is designed to store 30 gigawatt-hours, adding vast reserves of energy to the grid.<\/p>\n<p>Britain&#8217;s largest grid-scale battery installation, <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/eclipsepower.co.uk\/case-studies\/minety-battery-storage\/\" target=\"_blank\">the Minety battery storage project<\/a> completed in 2022 in Wiltshire, southern England, is capable of absorbing or delivering 150 megawatts\u2014roughly equivalent to the power demand of 450,000 UK households.<\/p>\n<p>While Britain is making progress with its storage infrastructure, other countries are scaling up rapidly. China has built <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hydropower.org\/news\/chinas-fengning-station-worlds-largest-pumped-hydro-power-plant-sets-new-global-benchmark\" target=\"_blank\">huge pumped hydro stations<\/a> and the US is deploying <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/recurrentenergy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/Crimson-Factsheet_Jan-2021_V2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">very large grid-scale batteries<\/a>. Germany, meanwhile, is <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/2-g.com\/downloads\/en\/Press%20releases\/100_green_electricity_with_power_to_gas_.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">testing hydrogen storage<\/a> to absorb the power from its onshore wind farms.<\/p>\n<p>                                                                                                        <!-- TechX - News - In-article --><\/p>\n<h2><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"New_forms_of_storage\"><\/span>New forms of storage<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>There is a drive by energy companies to develop new forms of long-duration storage. Along with hydrogen, liquid\u2011air storage is capable of inter-seasonal storage. This would allow solar energy collected during the summer to be available for release during the duller autumn and winter months.<\/p>\n<p>In liquid-air plants, excess electricity is used to cool air to a liquid which can then be stored in insulated tanks. When electricity is required, the liquid air is heated and turned back into a gas, which moves a turbine and generates electricity. A 50-megawatt liquid-air plant planned <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/highviewpower.com\/projects\/#uk-projects\" target=\"_blank\">near Manchester<\/a> is expected to start commercial operation in 2026.<\/p>\n<p>In hydrogen energy storage plants, surplus electricity powers an electrolyzer that splits water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen is stored and, when electricity is needed, fed into a fuel cell or turbine to generate the electricity. An example is the proposed <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.equinor.com\/energy\/hydrogen-in-the-uk\" target=\"_blank\">Aldbrough facility<\/a> in east Yorkshire, which is expected to be in operation by 2030 and will have a storage capacity of 320 gigawatt-hours. This facility will use three repurposed salt caverns originally developed to store natural gas.<\/p>\n<p>Energy storage technology has become a serious business opportunity, with companies investing billions of pounds into building new facilities. The variety of projects in the pipeline suggests the UK will be better able to avoid curtailing wind energy in the future, even accounting for growth in wind power capacity. Paying wind farm operators to switch off may soon be a thing of the past.<\/p>\n<div class=\"d-inline-block text-medium my-4\">\n                                                Provided by<br \/>\n                                                                                                    The Conversation<br \/>\n                                                    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon_open\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\"><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<svg>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<use href=\"https:\/\/techx.b-cdn.net\/tmpl\/v2\/img\/svg\/sprite.svg#icon_open\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\"\/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/svg><br \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n                                                This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\" target=\"_blank\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/is-the-uks-energy-storage-growing-fast-enough-251867\" target=\"_blank\">original article<\/a>.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/251867\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"\/>\n                                            <\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>\n                                                <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                Is the UK&#8217;s energy storage growing fast enough? (2025, May 1)<br \/>\n                                                retrieved 1 May 2025<br \/>\n                                                from https:\/\/techxplore.com\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2025-05-uk-energy-storage-fast.html\n                                            <\/p>\n<p>\n                                            This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no<br \/>\n                                            part may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.\n                                            <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script id=\"facebook-jssdk\" async=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/connect.facebook.net\/en_US\/sdk.js\"><\/script><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><strong><span style=\"color: #ff6600;\">If you liked the article, do not forget to share it with your friends. Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMN63nwsw68G3Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/category\/sciencee\/\" target=\"_blank\" >Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/techxplore.com\/news\/2025-05-uk-energy-storage-fast.html\" target=\"_blank\" >Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Credit: Pixabay\/CC0 Public Domain Britain&#8217;s booming green energy generation has a costly side-effect: the national electricity system operator has had to compensate wind turbine operators that could have produced more clean electricity than the grid could take. The cost of paying wind farms to temporarily switch off rose significantly in early 2025, surpassing \u00a3250 million&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":666373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2024\/wind-turbine-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-666372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=666372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/666372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/666373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=666372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=666372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=666372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}