There are calls to increase support for long duration energy storage technologies after it was revealed that energy bills were burdened with an additional £500m in 2021 as the National Grid incurred fees to compensate wind farms for shutting down.

A report by Energy Live News said this amount represents a ‘notable’ increase from the £299m spent in 2020 due to the lack of infrastructure to distribute the energy to its intended destinations.

Wind farms received a total of £806m in ‘curtailment costs’ during 2020 and 2021, with a significant 82% paid to generators in Scotland.  First Minister Humza Yousaf has written to the Government urgently calling for increased support for energy storage technologies with a particular emphasis on pumped hydro storage energy which is currently the only major renewable electricity technology which is ineligible for UK Government support, according to The Edinburgh Reporter.

The letter said: “While the additional deployment of renewables will play an important role in lessening dependence on fossil fuels for electricity generation, large-scale, long-duration energy storage is also absolutely critical to achieving our collective goals. It can help to integrate and maximise our significant renewable electricity generating capacity, ensure security of supply and manage constraints across the grid….Industry representatives have been clear that in order for long duration energy storage solutions to progress they require a cap-and-floor mechanism that ensures a minimum level of revenue. With an appropriate market support mechanism, several pumped hydro storage projects across Scotland, that have already secured planning permission, could begin construction immediately. This would provide vital resilience and flexibility as thermal generation starts to retire.”