Large-scale battery deployment reduces our demand for natural gas

Russia's invasion of Ukraine is fueling international calls for energy independence. The Netherlands is also joining this call. To phase out imports of fossil fuels - such as Russian gas - as quickly as possible through renewable energy, the Dutch cabinet is investing, among other things, an additional 13 billion euros in the Sustainable Energy Production and Climate Transition Incentives (SDE++) subsidy scheme. These additional investments in solar and wind are more than welcome for the energy transition, however, they do not help us achieve that goal quickly.

Backup option

At the times when there is no sun or wind, the addition of conventional power plants is necessary to make up for renewable energy shortages. Thus, with an energy system that is becoming increasingly weather-dependent, fossil energy will remain important as a backup option unless the Dutch government also invests in energy storage. Energy storage can take over that role from gas and coal by capturing produced sustainable energy and releasing it when demanded. This makes the rollout of energy storage crucial to creating an independent and stable energy system in the Netherlands.

Win-win-win

Storing energy can be done in several ways. The best known is storing power in batteries. Research firm CE Delft recently investigated the added value of batteries in our energy system. Conclusion: by combining batteries and solar parks, over 5 terawatt-hours of additional solar power can be connected. This reduces the production of gas-fired power plants, also achieving up to 2.2 megatons of CO2 reduction. And that's not all. Electricity prices will also fall due to the use of batteries. A saving of over 200 million euros in electricity costs for all customers is possible; that amounts to a total reduction of about 1.7 percent. Through the large-scale deployment of batteries, we thus reduce our demand for natural gas, significantly reduce CO2 emissions and lower electricity prices. In other words, a win-win-win! Besides batteries, there are other ways to store energy, for example in heat or hydrogen. Compared to batteries, these are distinguished by a long-term storage capacity. This will make it possible in the future to store energy for a period of months (seasonally). For example, we can heat our homes in the winter with excess solar or wind energy from the summer.

Poignant

Energy storage is already being used successfully in other countries. In the United States it is already functioning as THE alternative to new gas installations, in Australia large-scale battery storage is seen as the best choice for peak electricity services. The United Kingdom sees the deployment of large-scale storage systems as a means of replacing at least 50 terawatt-hours of gas by 2035. The Netherlands unfortunately lags behind. There is no target to reduce dependence on Russian gas through energy storage, nor is there a subsidy framework to encourage energy storage in the Netherlands. It was therefore distressing that at the same time that the additional 13 billion euros for the SDE++ was announced, it was also announced that energy storage will not be subsidized from the SDE++. This while the combination of renewable energy and energy storage as a future backup system is so important to make the Netherlands truly energy independent!

Maarten van den Heuvel
Chairman Energy Storage NL

This column was published in Storage Magazine May 2022