Energy Storage Integration for a Net Zero Grid (ESI4NZ)

Increased energy storage storage is needed on the electrical network to support high levels of variable renewable electricity such as wind and solar to enable us to reach our net-zero goals. The UK network currently has 5.3GW of energy storage of which 1.3GW is battery energy storage and this is expected to grow by at least 8GW by 2030. However, this alone does not meet the estimated required capacity, we therefore need to use the storage that we have optimally, for example, the location of storage and when we use it is critical to avoid congestion on the network. We also need to promote the installation of different types of storage that can operate over different time scales so that for example excess generation in one season can be used in the next.
The aim of the project is to determine how different distributed energy storage assets, of different sizes and technologies, can be integrated into the grid as part of a whole-system solution to enable adaptability, flexibility and resilience. The project will investigate where and how assets are connected to the grid, how they are controlled and what policies and market conditions are required to meet our storage requirements. The research will be carried out across 5 collaborating institutions with the work underpinned by experiments using operational grid-scale storage demonstrators operated within the consortium.
The outputs will include:
- Recommendations for optimal planning and scheduling of distributed storage under different policy and market conditions including incentives/regulation of locational deployment
- The impacts of different levels of coordination of distributed storage across location, scale, and markets
- Demonstrations of practical, scalable solutions for the coordinated control of storage assets and other sources of flexibility
- A roadmap that describes the decision points and options for the energy system as distributed energy storage grows according to different scenarios to 2035.