Dynamic growth of the energy storage market in the UK and Ireland

The UK energy storage market is growing quickly. Right now, it has a capacity of 4.6 gigawatts (GW) and 5.9 gigawatt-hours (GWh). By the end of 2024, it is expected to reach 7.4 GW and 11.6 GWh. This growth is mainly due to the rising number of planning applications being submitted and approved.

New projects

The UK energy storage market started to take off in 2015. Investment increased significantly in 2017, thanks to the successful Enhanced Frequency Response (EFR) auction in 2016. This growth has continued since 2019.

Currently, the UK’s total operational energy storage capacity is 4.6 gigawatts (GW) and 5.9 gigawatt-hours (GWh). Additionally, there are projects under construction that will add another 4.9 GW and 10 GWh.

Trends in Ireland

Like in the UK, the energy storage market in Ireland is also expanding quickly. Ireland currently has a total operational energy storage capacity of over 700 megawatt-hours (MWh), with only 36 MWh coming from storage facilities near solar power plants. The planning process in Ireland is more streamlined because it doesn’t require pre-applications.

Summary

The energy storage market in the UK and Ireland is growing quickly, especially with projects near solar farms increasing. In the UK, energy storage facilities near solar farms with a total capacity of 22 gigawatts (GW) and 44 gigawatt-hours (GWh) are being built, excluding speculative projects. Most of these will be operational by 2030. In Ireland, the capacity is 1.5 GW and 2.4 GWh. This rapid development highlights the increasing importance of energy storage in the energy transition of both countries.

Source: solarpowerportal.co.uk