June 2020
Price: £95 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
***Full-scale policy conference taking place online***
This conference will be an opportunity for key stakeholders and policymakers to consider priorities for further developing the energy storage sector in the UK.
With the Government prioritising decarbonisation and innovation in energy, delegates will consider:
- priorities and next steps for delivering energy storage at scale, and
- how key delivery challenges can be overcome.
Areas for discussion:
- The policy landscape - how storage technology and capacity development should fit in, in light of the expected Energy White Paper and its roadmap for energy system modernisation - looking at:
- support to address sector challenges - including reducing material and manufacturing costs, developing the UK research base, and creating routes to market, and
- fostering investor confidence to underpin sector innovation and the optimisation of large-scale storage capacity for use with networks, energy assets, businesses and households.
- Planning - and the impact of potential reform on large-scale storage expansion and decarbonisation targets, looking at:
- opportunities for reducing barriers,
- accelerating project approval, and
- co-location of high capacity storage with distributed renewable energy assets.
- Competitiveness - energy storage in the wider energy market, looking at:
- amending network access rules, reducing complexity, and expanding grid-connectivity to create a more level playing field for storage,
- offering further benefit to household and business storage users - including smart tariffs, reduced energy bills, and widening the prosumer group,
- incentives for network operators, with the NAO Electricity networks report recommending that electricity networks connect more small and large scale storage assets,
- more effective integration of storage technology - opportunities in light of Ofgem’s consultation on distribution and transmission owners, and
- the impact of possible increased costs on market growth and consumer adoption, in light of Ofgem’s Targeted Charging Review setting fixed residual charges for all grid-connected users.
- Commercial strategies and partnerships - looking across the energy sector at:
- how the storage industry might diversify revenue streams and routes to market, taking into account the 2019 VAT increase,
- optimising storage assets for use as demand side response capacity and virtual power plants, and
- integrating storage units across infrastructure to prepare for electric vehicles and EV charge points.
- Alternative forms of energy storage - with discussion expected on areas such as thermal and water mine technologies and how challenges for development can be overcome - including:
- strategies for attracting investment,
- commercialising new techniques and technologies, and
- integrating units with the wider energy system.
- Security of supply in light of the power outage that affected Britain last Summer- with discussion expected around:
- the role that energy storage played in delivering reserve capacity to the network and accelerating the network’s return to operation, and
- further opportunities for storage to help deliver greater grid stability
Developments that are relevant to the discussion:
- Budget commitments to increase public research and development investment, double the Energy Innovation Programme, and expand support for clean energy technology developers to export;
- The follow-up consultation on reforming the planning system for energy storage with a view to storage projects over 50MW not being subject to the Nationally Significant Infrastructure regime;
- The flexible retail energy market consultation and energy codes review expected this year - looking at potential reform to facilitate market entry for new technologies and services; and
- The Government’s Energy White Paper also expected later this year - which will outline a roadmap for modernising the energy system up to 2050.
The agenda:
- Policy priorities - the road to net-zero, and supporting innovation, commercialisation, and competition;
- Priorities for expanding storage capacity and delivering whole-system change - planning reform, co-location, and integration with the wider energy market;
- Next steps for energy storage technology in the UK and overcoming commercial barriers - reducing cost, supporting innovation, and what is needed from policy guidance;
- Battery storage and delivering smart home and business services - energy management, reducing consumer bills, and growing the ‘prosumer’ group;
- Storage in the energy transition - expanding flexibility, securing reserve capacity, and decarbonising the grid;
- Innovation in commercial strategies - electric vehicles, virtual power plants, and diversifying routes to market; and
- Next steps for alternative energy storage - acquiring investment, commercialising technology, and system integration.
Policy officials attending
Our forums are known for attracting strong interest from policymakers and stakeholders.
It’s certainly the case with this one. Places have been reserved by parliamentary pass-holders from the Parliamentary Office of Science & Technology, and officials from BEIS; Defra; the Department for Transport; Ofgem; the Health & Safety Executive; the Department for International Trade; the Home Office; Ofwat and the Welsh Government.
This is a full-scale conference taking place online***
- full, four-hour programme including comfort breaks - you’ll also get a full recording to refer back to
- information-rich discussion involving key policymakers and stakeholders
- conference materials provided in advance, including speaker biographies
- speakers presenting via webcam, accompanied by slides if they wish, using the Cisco WebEx professional online conference platform (easy for delegates - we’ll provide full details)
- opportunities for live delegate questions and comments with all speakers
- a recording of the addresses, all slides cleared by speakers, and further materials, is made available to all delegates afterwards as a permanent record of the proceedings
- delegates are able to add their own written comments and articles following the conference, to be distributed to all attendees and more widely
- networking too - there will be opportunities for delegates to e-meet and interact - we’ll tell you how!
Full information and guidance on how to take part will be sent to delegates before the conference
