The European Association for Storage of Energy (EASE) together with ten key energy stakeholders across the EU have asked European legislators to follow the example of the United States and support more provisions for long-duration energy storage needed for delivering the European Green Deal package.
In a joint letter, the signatories push for a more favourable legal framework for the large-scale deployment of energy storage solutions across all EU Member States.
To achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, all electricity generation must be decarbonised. Therefore, “the more renewable energy is introduced, the more flexible the entire energy system set-up must be, and the more need there is for adding capacity, shifting load, and/or improving power quality through energy storage solutions”, stated the letter.
Currently, batteries are mostly used in up to 4-hour storage applications for frequency control or fossil-fuel peaking plant replacement. However, with more renewables in the energy system, adding longer-duration storage is inevitable.
With fluctuating electricity from renewables, solutions for power availability and grid stability is required, “energy storage, therefore, has a fundamental role to play in the clean energy transition, ensuring that more renewable energy can be introduced into the grid”, stressed the authors of the letter.
According to them, installing more long-term storage will also allow significant savings in the investment in energy transmission infrastructure. At the same time, long-term storage will keep electricity prices more stable and more affordable for European end-users.
“The years between now and 2030 are critical in the race to net zero, and long-term storage is still in its infancy, needing much stronger policy support and investment”, suggested the statement.
