Potential value of energy storage in the UK electricity system

This paper assesses the value of distributed energy storage and informs the business case for its multiple applications in the UK electricity system. In contrast to earlier studies that focus on the benefits of energy storage for system operation and development, this work analyses the value that it may deliver to the owner. For this purpose, three models are proposed and applied to analyse the benefit of energy storage with applications in energy and ancillary service markets, revenue maximisation in the context of feed-in tariffs and reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. A large set of studies is carried out to quantify the commercial and emissions benefits of energy storage for those applications. Sensitivity analysis across various scenarios is performed to understand the key drivers for the value of energy storage and how it is affected by energy storage parameters and other factors such as network constraints, prices of energy and ancillary services, and inherent energy system characteristics. A review of current and near-term storage technology costs and functionality is also presented.