Storage developers warned not to rely solely on revenue from grid balancing
National Grid’s head of business development, Claire Spedding issued a warning to battery storage developers last week over a potential reliance on FFR.
With battery storage having increased dramatically in recent times, Spedding warned of market saturation and suggested that current developers must continue to progress and adapt when it comes to protecting their revenue streams rather than ‘putting all of your eggs in one basket’.
The UK system operator has used battery storage as a powerful means of procuring capacity, and currently balances supply and demand through monthly Fast Frequency contracts. As a result of this, Spedding states, it is imperative that all involved are prepared for change, “Things are going to change and they’re going to change rapidly. It’s really important that we’re prepared for the change and that we can move rapidly with it as well.”
She added, “I would make one appeal, which is: don’t put all of your eggs in one basket and build your entire business case around FFR. It’s getting increasingly competitive and as you get more participation in the market the prices are going to cool down and we need to be looking at other revenue streams and stacking revenue streams together.”
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