Why the time to invest in co-located solar-plus-storage is now. Last month, NextEnergy Solar Fund (NESF) announced the acquisition of our first battery storage assets, acquiring two utility-scale solar-plus-storage farms at Salcey Farm, in Berkshire and Pierces Farm, in Buckinghamshire. Combined, the projects provide 7.2MW of solar capacity, coupled with 1MW of on-site battery storage, enabling us to diversify our offering via frequency response and grid balancing services. This investment was sound on the basics for investment in solar and did not reflect a major swing to creative investment in batteries. Across the renewables sector and beyond, batteries have been an answer waiting for a question. And for all intents and purposes, that has not yet changed. Nevertheless, the electricity market, both in the UK and globally, is rapidly evolving to become increasingly dynamic and decentralised. With this trend set only to continue, battery storage will have an increasing role in providing vital frequency response and grid balancing services, which are essential to the smooth running of our energy system. The idea that some have had that batteries, being a long-term investment, will somehow be valuable investment for short term arbitrage, is not prudent. However, from a business perspective the case for continued development in this area is becoming a strong one, with services such as these enabling us to secure valuable new revenue streams. The growing market for batteries as well as other storage infrastructure and assets in the UK and globally only serves to support this business case further. The reducing cost and flexibility of battery solutions will increasingly support the business cases. Over the next five years up to 9,000MWh of battery energy storage cold be deployed across Britain alone.
Solar Power Portal 19th June 2018 read more »
