Post: Urgent action needed on energy storage, Lords warn 

Urgent action needed on energy storage, Lords warn 

Immediate action is urgently required to expand energy storage capabilities to meet legally binding climate commitments while boosting energy security, members of the House of Lords have warned.  

On 13 March, the Science and Technology Committee of the House of Lords released a paper urging Ministers responsible with strategizing to deploy long-duration energy storage (LDES) to “get on with it”. 

While the government conducted a consultation on policymaking for expanding Britain’s LDES earlier this year, the House of Lords’ Science and Technology Committee warned that without a more strategic approach to energy storage, the UK will struggle to manage future energy supply crises in an affordable and low-carbon manner. The committee urged the government to commit to a strategic energy reserve through LDES as part of a broader strategy.  

This strategy, it recommends, should include an explicit minimum target for scaling LDES capacity from the 2.8GW that is operational at present. It should also clarify measures to incentivise private investment in the sector; fast-track the planning and connections process for LDES projects and set out preferred technology pathways, including pumped hydro and hydrogen. 

Committee Chair Baroness Brown emphasised the importance of prioritizing LDES within the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Baroness Brown underscored the benefits of investing in long-duration storage, including enhanced energy security, reduced waste of renewable electricity, and lowered customer bills and stressed the urgency of government action to secure a brighter energy future for the UK. 

This call to action comes following an announcement from the government that it would support new gas power plants to maintain energy security alongside increasing renewable energy capacity. The Department did not mention energy storage in its media release confirming that decision on gas, aside from stating that battery energy storage could not be a standalone solution due to limits to storage capacities and timescales.

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