Designing a policy mechanism for long-duration energy storage: the British experience
File(s)
Published version
Author(s)
Spyrou, Elina
Suski, Adam
Green, Richard
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Purpose of review
The UK parliament recently introduced a cap-and-floor mechanism for net revenues of Long-Duration Energy Storage in Great Britain (GB). The article summarizes learnings from the UK proceedings around four questions: (a) What drives the need for LDES? (b) What are the barriers to LDES deployment in GB? (c) Which options could mitigate these barriers? (d) What are the key design choices for the cap-and-floor mechanism?
Recent findings
GB evidence indicates that (1) energy shifting over long timeframes and security-of-supply benefits drive LDES needs; (2) revenue uncertainty is the primary barrier; and (3) a cap-and-floor mechanism could mitigate investment risk.
Summary
Evidence on LDES needs is extensive, whereas analysis of barriers, their impact on investment, and the effects of alternative policies and cap-and-floor designs remains limited. Further research could address this gap and contribute insights into the interplay of long-term contracts and short-term markets in hybrid electricity markets for deeply decarbonized power systems.
The UK parliament recently introduced a cap-and-floor mechanism for net revenues of Long-Duration Energy Storage in Great Britain (GB). The article summarizes learnings from the UK proceedings around four questions: (a) What drives the need for LDES? (b) What are the barriers to LDES deployment in GB? (c) Which options could mitigate these barriers? (d) What are the key design choices for the cap-and-floor mechanism?
Recent findings
GB evidence indicates that (1) energy shifting over long timeframes and security-of-supply benefits drive LDES needs; (2) revenue uncertainty is the primary barrier; and (3) a cap-and-floor mechanism could mitigate investment risk.
Summary
Evidence on LDES needs is extensive, whereas analysis of barriers, their impact on investment, and the effects of alternative policies and cap-and-floor designs remains limited. Further research could address this gap and contribute insights into the interplay of long-term contracts and short-term markets in hybrid electricity markets for deeply decarbonized power systems.
Date Issued
2026-04-01
Date Acceptance
2026-03-02
Citation
Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports, 2026, 13
ISSN
2196-3010
Publisher
Springer
Journal / Book Title
Current Sustainable/Renewable Energy Reports
Volume
13
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2026 Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
License URL
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
5
Date Publish Online
2026-04-01