Autumn / Winter 2017
WHEN COST EXCEEDS VALUE
The dangers of pursuing electricity storage
Devoting an entire issue of FORESIGHT Climate & Energy to the subject of electricity storage in grid networks might seem like overkill, but the more evidence we unearthed about the role of storage, the more we saw an urgent need to set the record straight.
Electricity storage, it turns out, is no more essential for reliable supplies of electricity from a power system based on variable sources of renewable energy, like wind and solar, than for a system based on fossil fuels and nuclear power.
Given that fact, the emerging global rush by governments to manufacture profitable markets for electricity storage, whether or not it is needed, and the resulting push to develop storage solutions, risks triggering one of the biggest investment blunders of all times, not least in batteries.
Belief is no substitute for rigorous examination of the facts. The false assumption that storing electricity and "firming supply" from variable renewables is essential for reliable power delivery is no basis for law making, or for investment.
FORESIGHT examines the complex case for electricity storage in power systems in its latest issue. We trust you'll enjoy this readable walk, undertaken with a cool head through a hot topic of our times.
Given that fact, the emerging global rush by governments to manufacture profitable markets for electricity storage, whether or not it is needed, and the resulting push to develop storage solutions, risks triggering one of the biggest investment blunders of all times, not least in batteries.
Belief is no substitute for rigorous examination of the facts. The false assumption that storing electricity and "firming supply" from variable renewables is essential for reliable power delivery is no basis for law making, or for investment.
FORESIGHT examines the complex case for electricity storage in power systems in its latest issue. We trust you'll enjoy this readable walk, undertaken with a cool head through a hot topic of our times.
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Is electricity storage essential? Belief is a dangerous foundation for decision-making and beliefs about storage risk major investment errors
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