Race for energy storage begins

With the Middle East pushing ahead with some of the most ambitious clean energy projects in the world, attention is now turning to the next phase of the energy transition: how energy from solar and wind sources can be stored and dispatched 24 hours a day

 

Renewable energy has now overtaken conventional thermal power generation as the main technology for installed new capacity globally.

In 2019, renewable energy accounted for almost three quarters, 72 per cent, of new installed global power capacity, according to data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (Irena).

The rapid growth of renewables is due to the combination of the sharp fall in clean energy technologies and rising political will from countries to reduce carbon emissions and tackle climate change.

The energy transition is being driven by solar and wind technologies, which together accounted for 90 per cent of the new global clean energy capacity in 2019. With the Middle East driving the fall in cost of solar and wind power for large utility-scale projects, attention across the region is now turning to the next phase of the energy transition: how peak solar and wind energy can be stored and dispatched 24 hours a day.

Dubai is already embarking on a sizable concentrated solar power (CSP) project, which will utilise the thermal solar technology to heat molten salt and store power to be dispatched later. The emirate is also pushing ahead with the GCC’s first pumped hydro storage project at Hatta.

However, with photovoltaic (PV) and wind power dominating the region’s renewable energy programmes, battery storage is set to offer the most efficient method for providing round the clock clean energy.

Battery storage is multifaceted, with numerous technologies under development for various applications. Lithium ion batteries are currently the most feasible for large-scale deployment, but other types are also becoming more cost-effective. As part of our energy storage focus, Energy & Utilities looks at some of the battery technologies and other storage options being deployed across the Middle East.

Tom Swarbrick and Oliver Irwin from Bracewell discuss the challenges to implementing battery energy storage on a utility-scale, examining the importance of the correct legislative frameworks and potential difficulties facing public-private partnership (PPP) schemes. Bracwell represented FRV for the 34MW Contego project in the UK.

Mohammed Atif from DNV GL provides an excellent overview of the main trends, opportunities and challenges facing utilities and energy firms in developing energy storage in the latest Market Talk podcast. In addition to highlighting the potential for battery and thermal solar storage in the Middle East, Atif discusses the important role that the move towards electric vehicles will play in the next phase of the energy transition.