It has been another busy quarter for the storage industry with a number of our members progressing projects in construction and dealing with the uncertainty that the Covid-19 pandemic has caused in terms of project timelines for the upcoming DS3 procurement gates. In this regard it is welcome to see that EirGrid and SONI are engaging with industry to see how the impacts of Covid-19 can be mitigated. ESI has responded to a recent consultation on this topic and we hope that more flexibility can be introduced to facilitate these projects meeting critical contracting timelines.
ESI Pipeline Survey
We are also delighted to see the results of the ESI Pipeline Survey which shows that there is a strong pipeline of battery storage projects that are looking to develop and help meet the challenges of operating a power system with ever growing levels of renewable generation.
Looking towards the 70% RES-E target by 2030, it is also welcome to see discussions beginning on the development of the enduring post-2023 DS3 procurement arrangements. The Regulators published a scoping paper on the future arrangements in July and ESI’s DS3 Market Design working group worked hard on developing a comprehensive response that stresses the need for investment certainty for new build assets such as storage.
Network Charging for Storage
Another big step for the storage industry is the CRU’s recently announced decision on an interim approach for storage that removes the issue of double-charging of network tariffs. The CRU decided that G-TUoS charges storage have ceased to apply to storage units from 1 October 2020. The double-charging issues is something we have been highlighting as a significant barrier to entry into the market so it is very positive that this has been addressed. ESI hopes to engage on a more holistic enduring charging solution for storage as soon as possible that recognises the potential for longer duration storage technologies that will be needed as we move towards 2030.
New Member
We are pleased to say that we have a new member on the ESI committee since our last quarterly update. We would like to welcome Enel X to the group.
We continue to actively seek out new members, both among existing IWEA members and external parties who would like to become involved in energy storage. If you would like to become involved or would like more information, then please contact info@energystorageireland.com
Battery Storage Safety
Finally, the safety of battery storage is obviously a very important consideration for our members and for local communities, so we are pleased to say that ESI published an information paper on the Safety of Grid-Scale Battery Energy Storage Systems in August 2020. This paper is intended to help local communities, policymakers, planning authorities and developers understand battery storage technologies and how safety is a fundamental aspect of their design and operation.
The full policy update is available to members to download on our members’ section. If you would like to learn more about our work or enquire about membership please contact us at info@energystorageireland.com