Utility firms must embrace energy storage systems in the short term if they are to keep ahead of commercial opportunities that may present themselves in the long term.
Delegates at Energy Storage Update Europe were told to take advantage of energy storage systems such as lithium-ion batteries during the two-day event in London.
Speaker Anthony Price, Director at Electricity Storage Network, told delegates at last week’s event that it is ‘crunch time’ when it comes to embracing energy storage to harness renewable energy.
He added that companies had to have the mentality of the bookie, and not the bank, to reap the long-term rewards.
The conference heard batteries were currently one of the best solutions as they allowed increased flexibility when supporting frequency regulation, black-start and load levelling when compared to traditional methods using fossil fuels.
Alternatives to electro-chemical storage suggested at the conference included Compressed Air Energy Storage, Pumped-hydro and flywheels.
Speaker Dr David Hodgson, Energy Specialist at UK Trade and Investment, said at conference: “Many companies are looking at opportunities and thinking if they can make a reasonable return now, then once they have the infrastructure in place they can introduce additional services on top of that.”
Asif Rafique, Managing Director at Susi Partners AG, said the long- term goal of the industry was to use energy storage for multiple usages.
Lars Stephan, manager of Regulatory and Government Relations at Younicos, claimed there were at least 23 different uses for energy storage. Later in the conference a delegate said the figure was more around the 50 mark in the US.
