UK needs storage to help balance its power system
UK needs eightfold rise in power storage capacity – Aurora
Developers call for incentives to kickstart investment in storage and balance intermittent renewables
The UK could need up to 24GW of long-duration energy storage (LDES), equivalent to eight times its current installed capacity, to integrate wind power into a secure net-zero electricity system, according to consultancy Aurora Energy Research. Aurora defines LDES as technologies such as pumped storage that can store electricity for four hours or more and supply firm, flexible and fast-responding power to the grid. Deployment of significant LDES capacity on the UK power system by 2030 could cut emissions by 10mn t/yr and reduce system costs by £1.13 bn/yr ($1.54bn/yr), or 2.5pc, Aurora says. LDES deployment could also reduce reliance on gas-fired generation by 50TWh/yr, it says. “The UK’s net-
Also in this section
22 July 2025
Sinopec hosts launch of global sharing platform as Beijing looks to draw on international investors and expertise
22 July 2025
Africa’s most populous nation puts cap-and-trade and voluntary markets at the centre of its emerging strategy to achieve net zero by 2060
17 July 2025
Oil and gas companies will face penalties if they fail to reach the EU’s binding CO₂ injection targets for 2030, but they could also risk building underused and unprofitable CCS infrastructure
9 July 2025
Latin American country plans a cap-and-trade system and supports the scale-up of CCS as it prepares to host COP30
