‘Super battery’ schemes will store green power and save consumers money – Ofgem

Dozens of “super battery” projects to store green power and save consumers money have progressed to the final stage of a financial support scheme.

Energy regulator Ofgem said 77 long duration electricity storage schemes had entered the final assessment stage of a Government-driven support programme to stop green energy going to waste and boost growth.

Long duration energy storage technology captures excess renewable power when wind and solar are generating more than is needed and then releases it back to the grid when there is not enough to meet demand.

This saves consumers money, as there is less need to pay wind and solar farm operators to stop generating on particularly windy or sunny days when there is more power than the grid needs, or pay gas power stations to switch on when there are not enough renewables to meet demand, Ofgem said.

It will support the transition to clean energy as more solar and wind farms are added to the grid and are powering green technologies such as electric vehicles and heat pumps.

Lithium ion battery storage projects lead the way among the 77 schemes – out of 171 which applied – progressing to final assessment for support under a “cap and floor” scheme.

The list includes other battery technologies, compressed air energy storage and pumped hydro schemes, with a capacity totalling 28.7 gigawatts.

Britain currently has 2.8 gigawatts of long duration energy storage across four pumped hydro schemes in Scotland and Wales, using excess power to pump water uphill where it is stored and released to flow down through turbines and quickly generate electricity when needed.

Successful schemes will secure support under a cap and floor arrangement in which they will be assured a minimum revenue from consumers from the project, to deliver a return on investment, and will have to pay money back to bill payers if they make more than a set maximum revenue.

Beatrice Filkin, director of major projects infrastructure for Ofgem, said renewables were “the key” to taking control of the energy system and ending a costly reliance on the turbulent wholesale gas market.

“That’s why we need to boost our ability to store as much homegrown energy as we can to let the turbines keep turning when the wind is at its strongest – and on the days when the gusts drop and the sun doesn’t shine that reserve of excess clean power can be called upon.

“There’s lots of different ways you can do this – with batteries, compressed air or pumped hydro storage – and we’ll consider them all, as this technology is vital for a modern energy system.

“Through Ofgem’s cap and floor process we are beginning to identify the projects that we think are best placed to capture and make the most of our precious natural resources, so that we can have safe, secure and good value-for-money power,” she said.

The scheme is driven by the Government, which pledged to build major new long duration energy storage schemes for the first time in 40 years.

Energy minister Michael Shanks said storage was a “technology that will see Britain take back control of its energy supply and protect bill payers for good”.

“By scaling this up, we can transform the way electricity is supplied in this country when demand is high – using stored up low-cost, homegrown solar and wind power to help end our reliance on costly fossil fuel markets once and for all,” he said.

Successful projects will be confirmed in summer 2026.