UK Government policy sets out ambitious aims to decarbonise the energy system. This
requires fundamental changes to the existing energy infrastructure and electricity from
low carbon sources is expected to play a major role in this transition.
Electricity storage is widely believed to be able to support the integration of low
carbon technologies. So far, the installation of wind power in the UK has not led to any
significant deployment of additional storage capacity. Investors still regard electricity
storage as too expensive. As more low carbon technologies are deployed, the need for
storage may increase. How do these developments affect the role for electricity storage
in future UK energy systems?
This thesis addresses this question by combining technical, economic and social approaches.
A techno-economic model has been developed to examine the commercial
opportunities for electricity storage in future scenarios. A socio-technical perspective
of technological transition complements this approach. Stakeholders have informed the
analysis on the uptake of storage through a workshop and interviews.
The results point towards a significant increase in the gross value of electricity storage,
even at modest efficiencies, especially within highly renewables based scenarios.
However, the concept of storing electricity is poorly aligned with existing institutions
and regulatory structures. Despite the potential increase in value, electricity storage
may fail to be adopted in the best societal interest. Path dependency may lead to
the deployment of established alternative solutions, or favour storage technologies with
unnecessarily high performance.
This thesis concludes that if electricity storage is to play an effective role as part
of a low carbon transition, long term developments would need to be considered as
part of a strategic policy framework. These may need to address commercial as well as
institutional barriers to deployment.